A Stitch in Time
by redwolfproductions
Summary: Rook and Ben have been partners for a while now. They have had good and bad moments, but yet their partnership stays strong. However, when a new creature comes into their time, things seem to change forever.
1. Back to the Beginning

**WARNING: This chapter contains strong language.**

Chapter 1 – Back to the Beginning

Something was wrong. Really wrong.

The cat-like alien stood in a complete daze as his partner stood feet headed of him, staring at the same thing. One moment, the portal had been ceiled shut, but another moment later it had opened. The alien's partner stared headed, his toxic green eyes in a daze.

As the portal grew wider, it began to create a force that slightly pulled things into it, ruffling his partner's fiery orange and red fur.

"Tisk, tisk, Rook. I expected you to be smarter than this." a voice came from behind the cat-like alien.

The alien, who responded to the name Rook, swung his head around to see an old foe. At the sight, the alien snarled. His name wasn't Rook. Well, it had been at one point, but he had been corrupted long ago. He knew his real name after 'the incident', but his memory was scrambled, so he now knew himself as Roanoke.

Roanoke growled deeply, flicking his tail to and fro out of irritation. The man before him had taken EVERYTHING away from Roanoke. He had taken his sanity, Plumber badge, and old partner, Ben, from Roanoke. He had turned Roanoke into this ... monster.

The man who had once been Roanoke's captor stood on the other side of the glass, inside the safe room that controlled the portal that continued to suck lightly. Roanoke was about to loose it. He was about to break though that glass and take the man's life, as he had to Roanoke, but he heard a light whimper coming from next to the portal.

Spinning around, Roanoke saw his new partner, Blaze, slowly sliding closer and closer to the portal. No. It couldn't end like this. The cruel man that had taken everything away from Roanoke was NOT going to take the last thing he had. He wasn't going to take Roanoke's partner, again.

In the heat of the moment, Blaze continued to stare into the portal, his mind some place else. His bright green eyes shone with confusion. From the sight, Roanoke froze, too. This moment brought back old, painful memories. For a slip second, Blaze reminded Roanoke of Ben, innocent and in a state of confusion.

No. He wouldn't loose Blaze, like he lost Ben.

Suddenly, the light sucking instantly turned in a strong pull, tugging hard at Blaze. Roanoke felt the tug too, but fought back the urge to flee. He needed to help his partner. He wouldn't fail him like he had failed Ben. Quickly, Roanoke sprung into action. Leaning all his weight back, he was able to balance gravity as he took careful steps forward without being sucked into the portal. To his horror, Blaze still stood in a daze, staring into the portal.

"It ... can't be real." Blaze muttered, shaking.

Just as Blaze was about to be sucked forward, Roanoke lunged forward with his paw outstretched. He had meant to grab his partner by the back of his shirt, but ended up grabbing Blaze by his scruff. Being sucked forward, Roanoke took a step back, scratching his back claws into the cement ground, trying to pull back. The paw that held the back of his partner's neck held tighter, flexing his claws into his partner's neck fur. This caused Blaze to give a startled yowl, snapping out of his daze.

"Blaze, damn it!" Roanoke cried. "Wake up!"

Indeed, Blaze had realized what was happening, trying to step back, as well.

Suddenly, the portal grew larger, but seemed to send off sparks. When Roanoke glanced back over his shoulder, he saw the man that had tortured Roanoke relentlessly, now frantically pressing controls and pulling levers. His plan seemed to be falling apart, along with the portal. Neither Blaze or Roanoke knew where the portal lead to, but both had enough sense to ask questions later, after Roanoke had beat his foe's ass.

Giving up, their enemy had just stared through the glass. "No matter. I don't care where this goes, as long I'm rid of you!"

Roanoke roared in anger. "I won't rest until you're dead, Corbin!"

Corbin, as his name was, pounded his fist on a control panel. "It's DOCTOR Corbin! Doctor! I created you and I can uncrate you!"

Roanoke grabbed Blaze with his other free paw. "You're not a doctor. You're a MONSTER."

Doctor Corbin gave a sneer. "Look who's talking, Rook."

Roanoke was about to say something back, but the force grew stronger, pulling him and his partner closer towards the portal. Both cat-people tried to pull back, but it was already too late. Blaze turned to look into Roanoke's eyes. Roanoke froze for a moment. Staring into his partner's toxic green eyes made even more painful memories flood in.

"No ..." Roanoke muttered. "Not again. I won't let it happen, again."

Blaze looked confused, but he deep down knew his friend's pain. Although Roanoke had always avoided talking about Ben, Blaze knew that he had once been Roanoke's partner. Blaze knew of how Roanoke would relentlessly continue to blame himself for whatever had happened.

"Not again." Roanoke repeated.

Suddenly, finding hidden strength, Roanoke clutched his partner, swinging his arms around. Blaze was surprised by the sudden strength that flung him back at the end of the room. Once he had landed on the cement ground, he frantically searched for something to hold onto. Thankfully, Roanoke had flung Blaze next to the bars that lined the glass, showing Corbin on the other side.

Blaze gripped at the bars, wrapping his arms and legs around the bars. He looked towards the portal that continued to suck his partner in, feeling helpless. "R-Roanoke!"

Roanoke had managed to turn around, facing Corbin and his partner, but the force continued to pull him. Roanoke made eye contact with Corbin, snarling, but he then turned to Blaze, feeling fear for his partner. "Blaze! I saved you once, now you're on your own!"

"Roanoke ...!" Blaze cried, not believing what he was hearing.

"Kick his ass! Kick Corbin's ass for me!" Roanoke cried out. The wind that flew around the room muffled his words, but Blaze had heard perfectly. "Remember what I taught you!"

"No! You're my partner; I'm not loosing you!" Blaze cried out, clutching the bars tighter.

"Remember!" Roanoke cried out once more.

Before Blaze could react, his partner flew off the ground, being sucked into the portal. He gave a loud yowl as he disappeared into the sparking portal. Once he was sucked inside, the sparks grew brighter, making wind whirl faster through the room. Blaze squinted his eyes shut, clinging to life on the bars. Tears that squeezed through his shut eyes were flown into the air and sucked through the portal.

Corbin watched in horror as a tear seemed to fly in slow motion towards the sparking portal. The instant a tear hit the sparking portal, all hell broke loose. Sparks flew all around the room, making the portal shutter, slowly closing.

"No! No! No!" Corbin cried out, pounding more buttons. "I'm not finished!"

Seeing the portal get brighter and brighter, he shielded his eyes with his arm just as a blinding flash consumed everything. Moments later, when the light had left, Corbin unshielded his eyes, looking at what the result was. Where the portal had once been was nothing more than a burn mark. The giant cat that had been holding the bars had let go, now lying in a daze on the ground.

Corbin may not have sucked the other creature he created into the portal, but he had been rid of his most monstrous creation. He had been freed of Rook, the mutated-alien monster. Now, he could breathe a sigh of relief. All he had to do now was rid himself of his other creation, Blaze. He knew deep down that he was no match for the feral beast of Rook's (or Roanoke's) partner, but he didn't care. At this point, he didn't care if he killed Blaze or if Blaze honored his partner's wish and finished off Corbin himself. Corbin would die knowing that he was free of Rook. He was finally free.

Or so he thought.

* * *

"Ben, are you sure about this?" Rook had asked his partner, Ben. "I do not think that this is the most effective way to find whoever is creating the time anomalies. Shouldn't we contact head quarters?"

Rolling his eyes, Ben continued to walk along side Rook. "They already know about the time ... whatevers. We're just looking around a bit."

"Well, what makes this place any special?" Rook asked.

"I don't know. An abandoned shipping yard seems legit." Ben shrugged.

As they continued to walk around, Rook held a scanner, showing signatures on the material plain where time anomalies were being created. For the past four hours, time anomalies had been reported here and there. Although they didn't know exactly where, they knew that they were happening all around Bellwood. Now, Rook held a scanner that could show where one was being created. Hopefully, they would be able to find one, and figure out who or what was creating the strange accuracies.

Suddenly, as Ben was about to say they should give up, Rook's scanner went crazy. Bright lights and flashes came from the scanner. Rook fiddled with it, trying to get a location.

"What is it?" Ben asked.

"The scanner shows that there is an anomaly happening right now."

"Where?" Ben pestered.

"According to the scanner ... right on top of us." Rook answered with a tingle of fear.

Before Ben could reply, there was a blinding flash of light. He shielded his vision with his arm, trying not to look. After a few moments, the light died down, letting Ben and Rook open their eyes. Both gapped in amazement. Right in front of them, just a few years away, was what looked like a blue vortex. The vortex, or portal, was sparking brightly, as if something had disturbed it.

Ben was wide eyed. "What the ...?"

Suddenly, the ground seemed to tremble as the portal began to spark more. Ben seemed to be in a state of confusion, but was soon snapped out of it as Rook grabbed Ben by the neck of his shirt, pulling Ben back with him behind some barrels, covering from whatever would happen. Both ducked behind the barrels, covering their heads in case anything flew their way.

After a few moments, the trembling had stopped, but there was still a sparking light behind them. When both thought it was safe, they peered over the barrels, to see what had happened. The portal had been replaced with what looked like a white light. The light slowly fell to the ground. Once it touched the ground, the orb of light seemed to take a shape.

"What is it?" Rook whispered.

Ben just shook his head. "I don't know."

Slowly, the white light continued to take some form. After a few moments, it seemed to take a shape of a man, but they soon saw that it wasn't anything human at all. The figure seemed to turn into some form of giant cat. Once it took the form of a feral cat, most of the light lifted, showing the true figure.

Rook gasped at the sight.

The beast that lied on the ground had a thick pelt that was a light violet. It's underside was a lighter color, almost white. The cat had giant paws and fluffy ears. Strangely, the creature had black markings all along it's back, and some on it's face and tail. The last of the light sparks glittered, covering the creature's body, showing that there was clothing. The creature wore dark, baggy pants and a light grey hoodie with a Nike logo on the front.

Ben glanced at Rook, who seemed to be staring at the creature, too. When Ben looked back at the creature, what was left of the light sparkles had lifted, disappearing. Seeing that the creature was just lying limply on the ground, Ben walked around from behind the barrels, walking slowly towards the giant cat that lied on the ground. He could feel Rook walking behind him, so he felt somewhat at ease with his partner giving him back-up.

As Ben got closer, he saw the creature's side slowly lifting up and falling back down. Whatever it was, it was alive. Looking around, Ben found a long stick. Picking it up, he continued to move closer towards the creature. Once he got about a couple feet away, Ben lifted the stick.

He looked towards Rook for a moment, who seemed just as confused as Ben. Ben just sighed and looked back towards the giant cat. Moving the stick forward, he lightly poked the creature. The instant the stick touched the cat, it's golden eyes snapped open.

Just as the cat moved, Rook sprung into action, grabbing the back of Ben's shirt, pulling him back just as the cat jumped up. As Rook yanked Ben back, Ben let go of the stick he was holding onto. The cat snapped up at the stick, clamping it's jaws down on the piece of wood, instantly snapping it in half. However, doing so seemed to drain the creature of the last of it's strength. Once it had attacked the stick, it tried to stand up, but instantly fell back to the ground, landing on it's paws and knees.

Now that Ben looked at the cat, it only seemed half cat. It's body form was that of a man's, making the creature look like a cat-man. It may have had the form of a man, but it was covered in fur, had a long tail, and it's head was that of a cat's.

It's muzzle was scratched, as if it had been through something rough.

It's fuzzy ears were pinned back, like it would fight even if it was about to pass out.

When Ben looked closer, he saw that one of it's ears had a hole through it, like someone had shot it's ear. On the opposite side of it's face, one of it's eyes had a faded scar over it, like it's eye had been struck, but was unharmed.

It's hands ... err ... paws were huge and furry, that of a real cat's, but it's thumb wasn't that of a cat's. It was moved down to the rest of the fingers, making opposable like that of a human's. The sight was strange, but the hands weren't Ben's biggest concern.

Something ... seemed familiar about the cat-man. Perhaps it was it's coloring, or it's markings, or the way it had that same spark of determination as someone else Ben knew that made the cat-man look familiar.

"What ARE you?" Ben muttered.

The cat-man just panted heavily, like it had just sprinted a mile. It's eyes were clouded, as if it was looking at nothing. "I'm ..." it mumbled, as if it wasn't too sure what it's name was. "I'm ... I'm a ..."

Suddenly, the cat's attention snapped back on, as if realizing what was happening. It lifted it's head and stared blankly at Ben, as if it was staring at a ghost. Staring into the cat's gaze sent shivers up Ben's spin. Those eyes. They looked that same as ...

"Ben ..." the cat whispered. "You're ... alive?"

"You ... know me?" Ben shuttered. Yes, Ben knew that the cat knew him. Deep down, Ben knew who the cat resembled.

"You don't ... I'm ... It's me!" the cat cried, out of breath. "I'm ..." The cat was starting to stutter, as if trying to remember it's name. "My name ... what's my name?"

Just then, the sight of Rook made the cat look up. It just stared at Rook, in equal amount of awe as it was in when it laid it's eyes on Ben.

"It's ... me." the cat said, shaking. Just then, it's breathing became shallow. Looking like it was dizzy, the cat fell to the ground, passed out.

* * *

There was a bright light, making Roanoke keep his eyes shut. He was beginning to come to, but slowly. His head felt heavy and dizy. He then thought that he was sick. After all, he felt terribly sick. Was it ... all a dream? A bad dream? Had he only dreamt that he had been sucked into a portal and sent swimming through what seemed like another dimension? If so, then he must have dreamt that he saw Ben, his old partner. And that he had seen ... himself. His past self, anyway, before the incident. His old self, who didn't have a scar, didn't have a hole in his ear, and wasn't mutated into a cat-like monster.

Just ... a dream.

However, as Roanoke got used to the bright light, opening his eyes slowly, he knew that something wasn't right. His head felt as if it had been smashed against cement.

Cement!

The memory fell on top of Roanoke like a ton of bricks. Blaze ... his partner. His toxic eyed partner had ... survived. He was safe and sound. Or, for the moment. This was no dream. Roanoke had been sucked into a portal, leaving behind his partner with ... that bastard ... that MONSTER. The memory of Corbin made Roanoke snarl out loud.

"Bastard ... fucking BASTARD." Roanoke muttered. Although he felt pure hatred, he also felt deep fear for his partner.

There was a ... voice. Roanoke's head was still swimming, but he could hear the voice as it repeated itself.

"Hello? Are you alright?" the voice said softly.

Opening his eyes slowly, Roanoke was relieved that whoever was in the room with him had dimmed the lights some. Roanoke grumbled, trying to gain more of his sight.

"Huh ...?" Roanoke muttered.

"Are you alright?" the voice asked, again.

Once Roanoke had regained his vision, he saw that he was in a small, warm room on top of cot. His body was limp, feeling numb, but he could feel a light blanket on top of his body, keeping him warm. There were three people by the cot's side. Roanoke fought back the urge to cry out in surprise and excitement at seeing the two people he knew. One was his old partner and the other ... was him?

Roanoke was still very confused. How had 'he' being standing there? Perhaps Roanoke had just hit his head hard and was imagining his past self. Then again, he knew that who he saw was himself.

Once the third person, the one who Roanoke thought he didn't know, saw that their visitor was awake, smiled. "You're awake."

"I'm ... awake." Roanoke muttered. He began to feel his limps, then his head. Once he felt a little better, he sat up on the cot. He glanced once more at his past self before placing his spinning head in his hands. He released a pained sigh, muttering to himself, again.

"Who ... are you?" the younger Rook asked. He had an edge to his voice, as if he knew something. Smart guy.

"I'm ..." Roanoke muttered. He then remembered. "I'm Roanoke."

"Roanoke?" Ben mumbled. "So ... you're not ...?"

The elder man that stood beside Ben placed a hand on the youngster's shoulder, as if motioning for him to remain silent.

"That's ... my name. That is what my name is. I ... used to be called something else. But I'm now Roanoke." Roanoke muttered, half to himself, just to make sure that he was still partly sane.

"What was you're old name?" Ben asked.

"And why did you change your name?" Rook added.

"I ... I'm trying to remember ..." Roanoke grumbled. After a few moments, he buried his face deeper into his hands, moaning. "I remember. I remember it all. I changed my name. I became a different person, so I got a different name. I changed my name after the incident ... that BASTARD."

At Roanoke's growl, the three seemed to take a step back, but remained silent.

"That bastard ... did this to me." Roanoke muttered to himself. "Turned me into ... a monster. That fucking bastard ..."

There was a long and awkward pause after that. Neither of the three males watching the cat-like man made a noise or moved an inch. Their gazes were locked on the creature that had mysteriously appeared in the shipping yard, but was now at HQ.

Suddenly, Roanoke flinched, pulling his face out of his hands. "I remember ... why I'm here."

"Yes?" the elder pressed.

"I ... thought I was following Blaze."

"Blaze?" Ben muttered under his breath.

Roanoke weakly nodded. "Blaze. My ... my partner. I left him in the room ... with Doctor Corbin. Son of a bitch ..."

His watchers waiting in silence for him to continue.

Sighing, Roanoke stared at Ben. "Blaze. His bright green eyes. I tried following them, but I was wrong. I wasn't following Blaze. I ... got distracted in the heat of the moment. I ... was thinking about Ben. I was thinking about ... how things used to be. Before the incident. Before all this. When ... we were partners."

At the word 'partners', Ben stiffened up. Ben could hear Rook as he drew a sharp breath.

"You're ..." Rook whispered.

"I screwed up." Roanoke muttered, interrupting Rook. "I screwed up big time. I forgot. I forgot that Blaze and Ben have the same eyes. I got distracted thinking of Ben, so I came back. I meant to return to the present and beat Corbin's frosted ass, but I ended up back in the past. I fucked up for real this time."

Roanoke tore his gaze away from his ex-partner and turned to his past self. He sighed and looked towards the ground in shame. "Yes. My name used to be Rook. Before ..."

Roanoke looked like he was about to swear again about who ever this 'Corbin' was, but he just sighed painfully and placed his face back in his hands, trying to hide his shame and anger. Feeling himself slipping away, Roanoke lied back down on the cot, staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, giving into sleep.

* * *

The cat-like creature had fallen into a deep sleep. At first, Plumbers thought that he had fallen into a coma, but he seemed to just be extremely tired. What ever that bright light was before, it had seemed to drain Roanoke of all his energy. His sleep wasn't peaceful, however. It was long and horrifying.

Although Ben and Rook hadn't stayed the night at HQ, they would return everyday for a week now, hearing the news on the situation. Yes. Roanoke had slept for a week straight. And it seemed that every few hours, he would have either a hot flash, a sudden freeze, or a nightmare.

Oh, the nightmares. The horrible, frightening nightmares. Although no one could truly tell what Roanoke was screaming about, it wasn't pretty. His screams of fright would often be covered by howls of pain and sorrow. And, occasionally, there would be snarls and growls of anger.

Rook had seemed to be distant that week, though. Ben knew why, but wasn't sure what to do about it. Sure, his partner was stressed about the situation, but what else could he do? However, whenever Ben would hear howls and cried coming from the room Roanoke was being kept in, he understood Rook's unease. If Ben's future self had appeared one day out of the blue, looked like some sort of ... monster, and was in constant emotional pain, he would feel worried, as well.

Than again, no one knew for sure if Roanoke was Rook's future self, or if the creature was just babbling on like he did whenever he spoke aloud in his sleep. Grandpa Max had told Ben and Rook that they would only find out the truth once Roanoke woke up from his trapped sleep. Ben had been edgy just because of the fact of his immense curiosity. Whatever or whoever this creature was, he sounded terribly sick. Neither Ben nor Rook had seen Roanoke that week, due to fright.

However, later that week, they could no longer try to ignore Roanoke.

The whole HQ could hear it. Everyone was surprised that the wails and yowls couldn't be heard from the parking lot. Rook and Ben had both cringed at the sounds. They were worse than any thing else they had heard that week. The creature seemed as if it were in a great deal pain.

At some point, Max had approached them. "I need you boys to come with me."

Neither had said a word as they followed Max through HQ. Although Max hadn't said where they were going, both had an idea of where. However, Ben had to make sure.

"Are we going ...?"

Max had slightly turned his head to his grandson. "Roanoke has woken up."

Rook seemed to flinch at the response. Max noticed this, sighing. As the three got to a slide door leading to the room where Roanoke was, Max stopped before opening it. He turned to Rook and Ben, but seemed to be mostly looking at Rook. "Boys, what you see might be disturbing. I have brought you here so that maybe you can hear what he has to say."

Both nodded, understanding.

Max gave Rook an uneasy glance before opening the slide door. Wails and cried erupted from the room in a frenzy. Indeed, what they saw was disturbing.

* * *

_I'll update this every so often._

_I don't own the cover photo._

_((I OWN THIS FAN FICTION AND ALL THE IDEAS PUT INTO IT. I OWN ROANOKE AND ANY OTHER FAN MADE CHARACTERS.))_


	2. King Roanoke

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence/gore and strong language.**

Chapter 2 – King Roanoke

"Fucking bastards!" Roanoke screamed, trying to get out of their grip.

Five Plumbers were trying to restrain that giant cat creature. While four held his limbs down, another tried to grab hold of his thrashing tail. The tail was long and whip like. Being hit with it hurt much more than expected. The force of the tail's hit had lashed one Plumbers down onto the ground. A giant red mark covered his face. After that had happened, more Plumbers had rushed in to retrain the startled creature.

Each Plumber held down a limb, but it wasn't enough to kept his back to the cot. The Plumber that had been hit to the floor staggered back to his feet, reaching for his Plumber's badge, trying to get more Plumbers to help, but Max Tennyson rushed forward and stopped the Plumber.

"Don't call anyone else. Go get a cold, wet towel." Max ordered.

The Plumber just nodded and rushed out of the room. Once he was gone, Max rushed over to the cot's side. As four Plumber's held the animal's limbs, Max placed a firm hand on Roanoke's chest, forcing his back onto the cot.

Roanoke gave Max a disgusted look, then roared in anger. The mighty roar seemed to shake the room, making Ben and Rook flinch back.

"Back off, old man!" Roanoke snarled.

"Roanoke!" Max yelled. "Calm down! You're in Plumber HQ."

"I know where I am!" Roanoke snapped. "I'm trying to GET OUT! Release me!"

"Roanoke," Max warned. "Lie down. Don't make me do something rational."

In one swift movement, Roanoke lunged his whole body forward, making the Plumbers loose their grip on the beast. Although Roanoke seemed to still be drained of energy, he flew to his feet, leaping off the cot. He flicked his powerful tail forward, intending to hit Max, but he was too tired and out of it to be quick enough.

Max just simply leaned out of the way. He threw his hands forward, grabbing Roanoke's tail and yanking it forward. Doing so made the cat slide out from under his legs and hit the floor, hard. While he was stunned, Max lunged forward. Tackling Roanoke to the ground, Max placed his hand on side of Roanoke's shoulder and neck, giving him a small grip. It was then that Roanoke went completely limp.

Rook seemed frozen on the spot, but once Max lifted himself to his feet, Rook looked at the elder. "Nero Nerve Grip?"

Max turned towards Rook, but Roanoke spoke first.

"No shit Sherlock." he growled under his breath.

"But my name is Blonko." Rook said, confused.

Roanoke then seemed to completely freeze, looking off into space. He slightly looked towards Rook before looking away, again. "I am aware."

"Holy crap!" Ben cried.

"What?" Rook said, turning to his partner.

"He said an expression!" Ben said loudly. "An expression, Rook!"

"So?" Rook mused.

"If he really IS you, then isn't it weird that he understands expressions?" Ben explained.

"There is no proof that he is Rook." Max snapped. Before Ben or Rook could react, Max turned to the four stunned Plumbers. "Don't just stand there. Help me get him back on the cot."

"Yes, sir." all four said at once, rushing over to help pick up Roanoke. As each person placed a hand on Roanoke's pelt, he growled to threaten, as if he would lash out at anyone at any moment. This made the Plumbers nervous, but they trusted that Max had truly paralyzed the beast. Once they had gotten Roanoke onto the cot, they lied him on his side. Just at that moment, the Plumber that was sent out for a towel returned.

Max walked over to the Plumber, giving a thankful glance before grabbing the towel. It lightly dripped from the freezing water. Max walked over to Roanoke, who seemed to be panting, trying to breathe. Although he was covered in thick fur, he was hot to the touch.

When Max walked over to Roanoke, holding the towel, Roanoke snarled, but didn't protest as Max squeezed the rag, letting cold water run onto Roanoke's face. As he did so, Roanoke's long tongue licked at any water that dripped down his muzzle.

"Are you thirsty?" Max asked.

Roanoke just shut his eyes and looked irritated, but continued to lap at the drops on his whiskers. After of while of dripping freezing water on Roanoke's head, he pulled the towel away and set it aside on a table.

Max turned to the five Plumbers in the room. "Leave us, now."

The Plumbers gave worried glances, but just nodded and walked out of the room, sliding the door shut behind them. Max hadn't wanted to do this so quickly, but he knew that the sooner the figured things out, the sooner they could all get on with their lives. True, he should have given Roanoke time to drink, eat, and get stronger before having to answer questions, but Max was getting impatient. He needed to know who and what this creature was that suddenly appeared at only a flash of blinding light. And where had he come from?

"Pull up a seat." Max told Rook and Ben.

Both glanced at each other before walking to the corner of the room, where they pulled some chairs from under a table. Ben had grabbed two, one for him and another for Grandpa Max. Once all three had seated themselves next to the cot's side, Max cleared his throat, but Roanoke spoke before Max could say anything.

"What year is it?" Roanoke asked.

Max blinked. "2013."

"Shit." Roanoke muttered under his breath.

From the confused looks the other three gave him, Roanoke sighed. "I'm from 2015. Doesn't sound like long, but a lot happens from now until then."

"Like what?" Ben asked.

Roanoke just chuckled. "That would be a spoiler."

"Where are you from?" Max asked.

Roanoke blinked from confusion. His nerves were calmed once again as he sat up on the cot. The three eyed him, as if he would attack, but he just sat crossed legged, looking at the three with concern.

"I thought you understood." Roanoke mumbled. He just shook his head and looked up at Rook. "What was that planet called? Forgive me. I can't quite remember. Was it Revonn ... Revan ... or ... something like that? I don't know."

Rook looked stunned. "You can't even remember out own home planet?"

"Like I said," Max interrupted. "We have no proof of you two being the same person."

"Pfff." Roanoke huffed, irritated. "I may not be able to remember much anymore, but I know what I used to look like. Handsome devil, I was."

"Prove it." Ben said, skeptically.

Roanoke sighed painfully. "Ben, you are my ex-partner, but I remember perfectly how arrogant, selfish, and full of yourself you are."

Rook gave Ben a side glance, who sighed, as well.

"Yeah, you're Rook." Ben mumbled.

"It's Roanoke, now." Roanoke replied. "My memory got scrambled a while ago, and I just remembered my old name. People call me Roanoke now, so it sticks."

Max leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin. "Interesting. Carry on."

"Why are you here?" Rook asked.

Roanoke then looked down, looking pissed. "Bastard ... he sent me here. He didn't know it would just move me to a different time. He was hoping to send me into the Nulviod, but things didn't turn out like that."

"Who?" Max asked, impatient.

"Corbin ... Doctor Corbin." Roanoke answered. "He wanted to get rid of me, so he tried to send me and my partner through the portal. It collapsed under my weight."

"Your partner?" Ben asked, confused. "You mean ... me?"

Roanoke shook his head, sadly. "No. My new partner, Blaze ... Blaze ..."

Roanoke seemed to be in a suddenly depressed mood. He bowed his head and shut his eyes. For once since they had laid eyes on him, Roanoke looked old, as if there was a bone-crushing weight on his shoulders.

"Roanoke ..." Max started, but then Roanoke looked up.

Roanoke's eyes were filled with both sorrow and pure hatred. He glared hatefully at Max. "Leave me. Get out."

The order was straight forward, not putting any emotion into his words. After he had said them, he bowed his head once again, closing his eyes. If someone had said something, Roanoke hadn't heard. His mind was some place else. His partner, his best friend, was gone.

The longer that Roanoke stayed away the longer Blaze was in danger. He had to get back. He had to make sure that his partner still safe, and he had to make sure that Corbin suffered. The sounds of Corbin's dying cries and pleas were all that made Roanoke happy. Sure, it was a cruel thought, but then again, Roanoke had turned into something cold hearted and cruel.

There was no changing that.

* * *

Plumbers had left Roanoke alone for the rest of that day and night, besides the occasional few that would give him food and water. Even then, they would place them by the bed's side, with Roanoke's back to them. He hadn't slept anymore. All he did was sit on the cot with his back to anyone that entered. His long tail would twitch from irritation every now and again.

Rook and Ben were left in a state of confusion. There was no denying that the creature held in one of the chambers was Rook's future self. Rook had avoided Ben the rest of that day, too. Then again, he had been avoiding everyone that day. Although other Plumbers whispered rumors of what Rook would turn into, Rook had heard every word perfectly. Every time he heard another Plumber speaking of him in such a cruel and monstrous way, it was like another deep stab to his chest.

Rook wanted to believe that this all was just another big misunderstanding. He wanted to make himself believe that he would NEVER turn into such a creature, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew that this was all too real. But, it wasn't just the appearance of Roanoke that frightened Rook, it was the fact that he seemed human.

Human. He didn't look like one, but spoke like one. He used various expression and curse words that Rook never knew humans used. Well, he had heard Ben curse every now and again, but never like Roanoke. Roanoke just seemed so ... angry. Angry at everything. Even angry at himself. For some reason, depression seemed to not only make him gloomy, but also enraged. Perhaps he just didn't know to properly express his feelings.

* * *

The next morning, things seemed to change forever.

The second that Rook and Ben got to HQ, Grandpa Max rushed up to them. Everyone else in the room seemed to be scrambling around like frightened mice. Many were panicking while many were sifting through communicators, contacting help and information from all over Bellwood.

"Grandpa," Ben asked. "What's going on?"

"Roanoke has escaped." Max told them. "Plumbers checked the chambers this morning. He wasn't anywhere to be found."

Before either of the two boys could reply, someone cried out. "Magister Tennyson! The scanners have picked something up!"

All three ran over to the Plumber who was huddled over a scanner. When all three looked, Rook was the first to respond.

"My ship!"

Indeed, Rook's truck transformed into a ship. It slowly began to hover in the air as it gained energy. All three watched through one of the screens, showing the parking dock.

"Zoom in." Max ordered.

As the camera zoomed, they were able to see who was in the passenger seat. Once the camera focused, both Ben and Rook gasped.

"Roanoke." Max growled. "Stop him!"

* * *

There was no stopping the determined Roanoke. When he set his mind to something, he did it. No matter what the costs. And now, all he wanted to do was get away. Get away from the Plumbers. Get away from Ben. And for sure get away from Rook.

Since his strength had come back, Roanoke had made his decision to escape. The longer he stayed strapped inside chambers, the longer his partner was in danger. The longer the future could be tampered with. Sure, Roanoke had thought about fixing things while he was in the past, but if he had learned anything about life, it was no not mess with it. So, he was leaving.

By the time the ship had warmed up, there were already Plumbers flooding into the parking dock. All stood in a line, aiming their guns at the ship, waiting for the order to fire. Roanoke just chuckled. It may have been forever since he had flown his ship, but he still remembered perfectly how to fly it. He also remembered how simple Plumber guns couldn't truly harm his ship.

As the ship began to fully hover, Roanoke saw a swift movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking out the side window, he saw that Max Tennyson, his grandson Ben Tennyson, and Rook Blonko burst into the scene.

Rook pulled out his Proto-Tool while Max held up his hand, telling the Plumbers to wait before opening fire. Just as he did so, he threw his hand down, letting the Plumbers take aim and fire at will. Just like Roanoke had thought, the firing was useless. He saw Rook and Ben shouting at each other, but Roanoke hadn't planned on staying and watching his past self and Ben making conversation. He was ready to high tail it out of there.

He pulled on the ship's wheel, making it back up and slowly turn around. The gate to the outside was slowly closing as bright red lights flashed, but Roanoke was prepared. However, as he flew half way out of the gates, he suddenly was pulled back. Even when he used more power to fly forward, something was holding back his ship. Well, more like someone. Ben Tennyson.

Looking back on one of his scanner's, Roanoke saw that what held him back were long, green vines. Roanoke knew of Ben's aliens, but he had completely forgotten what kind he had or what their names even were. Either way, Roanoke knew that Ben was just a delay. Roanoke couldn't afford delays.

"Sorry, old friend." Roanoke muttered under his breath.

Flicking some switches, Roanoke found the one he was looking for. He flicked it on.

* * *

The light from the busters from the back of the ship warmed Rook. He gasped as he launched himself forward, knocking Ben (in the form od Wildvine) away from the jets. Just as he did so, the boosters fired, burning the vines that held the back of ship. Both Rook and Ben were thankful that damaged vines didn't hurt Ben in anyway. He just simply grew more back, but was too late to react as the Omnitrix timed out.

Rook acted quickly, pulling back out his Proto-Tool, aiming it at the back of his flying ship. However, there wasn't enough time to shoot a line as the gates closed.

Roanoke had escaped.

* * *

He flew quickly, knowing that a large ship like his could easily be tracked. Roanoke hadn't intended to keep flying the ship for long. In fact, he had only hid in the parking dock because he had been waiting for Rook to arrive with their ship. He didn't take the ship because he wanted to fly off somewhere safe or to take something that technically owned to him, but just to simply escape HQ. The best way of doing so was taking his old ship out of the parking dock, and heading for the outskirts of town.

From there, Roanoke had planned to abandon his ship and proceed on foot, leaving Bellwood. However, things hadn't gone his way. They never did.

Still hazy on his ship's controls, he had completely forgotten how to land. And, from the looks of it, his ship's power was lowering. He had completely spaced on trying to remember how his ship was fueled. Was it by oil, gas, or battery? He couldn't remember.

So, when the energy was down, he had tried to land, even though he wasn't anywhere near out of Bellwood. Landing was a completely new challenge to Roanoke. He hadn't flown a ship in years. He was actually surprised that he had made it this far. As a result, his had crashed one of the sides of the ship into the side of a building. To be honest with himself, Roanoke knew that flying so close to the population of Bellwood wasn't the best idea.

As one of engines gave out, his ship began to smoke as it fell towards the ground at top speed. Roanoke pulled up on the wheel, trying to keep the ship upright, but it was useless. There was no stopping the speeding ship from hitting the earth.

Civilians moved out of the way, screaming from the sudden impact. Unfortunately, the ship had crashed into hard pavement of a Mr. Smoothie's parking lot. At first, the ship skimmed the surface of the pavement, but then it full on crashed, sending chunks of pavement flying. After a few moments of sliding, the ship finally stopped, just before crashing into the Mr. Smoothie's building.

After the crash, Roanoke sat, in a complete daze. Suddenly, a surging pain hit the side of his head. He placed his hand on the side, feeling the new pain. He cringed at his own touch, but just tried to ignore it as he tried to get out of the ship. Sadly, he hadn't been wearing a seat belt.

Although a seat belt would have helped him in the crash, he was mostly unharmed. The only real harm that he had been caused was the unknown pain on the side of his head.

Looking out the cracked window, Roanoke saw people gathering around the crash site. Many were panicking, not knowing what to do, but others were mostly interested of what had crashed into their town. Roanoke just grumbled to himself as he threw his elbow at the window, shattering it. From the movement, people took a step back, murmuring to each other.

"What is it?" one whispered.

"It looks weird ..."

"It's an alien!"

"Is it a good one or bad one?"

"Someone, call the police!"

"Is it hurt?"

Roanoke raised his elbow again, but once it collided with the window, instead of shattering again, it had just completely broke the side door, making it fall from the ship and clatter to the hard ground. This caused people to become more rallied up. Some had made brave moves as to take some steps closer, wanting to see the strange creature. Some had even pulled out their phones and taken photos of the scene.

Roanoke felt something else. It was his arm. Had it been hurt? Taking a quick glance at his arm, he saw that it wasn't his arm that hurt at all. It was his shoulder. It was bleeding dark, purple blood. He cursed to himself as he stumbled out of his old ship. People gasped and took steps back from the sight of Roanoke. More people had taken pictures, or just fled the scene completely.

'Think they never saw a Pyronite before.' Roanoke thought to himself.

Roanoke didn't have time to stand around while humans took pictures or just stared at him in awe. If some had called the police, then they would already be on their way. But Roanoke had dealt with the police before. He could handle them, but he wouldn't be able to handle the police with Ben and Rook on top of that. They must have already been on their way, considering Roanoke had crashed just a little ways away from HQ.

He needed to get away, but he couldn't just run. He was too deep inside the city of Bellwood to just run out of it. He needed to find a place to stay, at least until the heat died down. To Roanoke's horror, he could hear sirens coming from the distance.

"Shit ..." he muttered to himself.

Gathering himself together, Roanoke spotted a gap in the crowd. He lunged himself forward, making many people run off to the side, screaming. Although Roanoke was a Pyronite, which meant he looked like a four legged creature but was the size of a human, could walk on two legs, and speak, he could also do things of a feral cat could.

Being quick, Roanoke sprinted on all fours, speeding past the scrambling crowd and making his way down a street. This was much too open, though. People walking down the sidewalks moved out of the way with surprised expressions as Roanoke made his way down the street. Searching for anything, Roanoke spotted a pipe leading to the top of a small building's roof.

Swiftly, Roanoke lunged himself at it, using his whole body to shimmy up the pipe. Once he had gotten to the top, he looked down, seeing that people were gathering, pointing at the creature that was running along their roof tops. Roanoke just growled, and ran along the side of the roof top. When he got to the end of one, he just flew himself off the side, landing on top of another. He continued this as he ran. He was so quick on four feet that no one had truly noticed him.

As he continued to run, the sirens that were in the distance seemed to die down. He had lost the police, but he still needed a place to hide out from the Plumbers. At least until he got the chance to escape Bellwood.

Seeing a chance, Roanoke jumped off from the side of the building, landing inside a dumpster. He hadn't intended to land so hard, making him slide deep inside the rancid dumpster. Before he could dig his way out, the lid slammed shut, leaving Roanoke inside the dark dumpster.

The smell was unbearable, considering his sense of smell was one hundred times stronger than a humans, but once he heard sirens coming his way, he stayed inside the dumpster for a little longer. After a few moments, the sirens died down as they passed him. Someone must have pointed out which direction Roanoke was going.

To avoid the foul smell of the dumpster, Roanoke took in a deep breath through his mouth and exhaled through his nostrils. Once the sirens had faded off into the distance, Roanoke cracked open the dumpster's lid, looking out to make sure everything was safe.

The alley he was in was silent, so he crawled out and scanned the area. Indeed, there no one or thing in sight. So, quickly, Roanoke sprung back into action. Stalking to the side of the building, he pressed his back to the side, peering into the streets. There were no cars or people moving by. The police must have closed the street, looking for Roanoke.

Roanoke huffed. He remembered when things were like this. People would overreact at the sight of an alien or a crashed ship and freak out. In Roanoke's current time, there were hardly any people who overreacted from the sight of such things. Aliens and humans lived in peace. Well, most of the time.

The place that Roanoke lived, the streets of a small town, was well know. It was known as Gyrocity. At one point in time, it hadn't had a name. Few people lived there, but a mass amount of aliens did. Or, more so Roanoke's kind. In fact, all life forms that weren't human were the same kind as Roanoke. No, not Revonnahganders. Pyronites.

After they had escaped that horrible gorge a year ago, they had spread out in Gyrocity. Many humans have moved away from the city, then. Many had considered Roanoke and his followers as the Pyro Gang, but Roanoke knew that they were FAR from anything like a gang.

Roanoke considered them more as ... a society. Or, as he often said, The New Order.

The New Order. Roanoke had come up with that himself. Why? Well, because he was the leader. The alpha. The chief. Truth be told, if it hadn't been for Roanoke, they would have all perished. True, Roanoke's mind had been corrupted and he had gone slightly insane, but he still knew he was smarter than the average Pyronite. Or human for that matter.

How they had gotten out of the radioactive waste filled gorge was a long story, but Roanoke often referred back to it. If anyone had challenged his authority, then Roanoke had simply reminded them of how he had saved their asses. And, if the challenger continued to challenge Roanoke's leadership, then Roanoke would simply set them straight.

He wasn't proud of the others had had stepped on or killed to keep his status, but Roanoke wouldn't have it any other way. To keep the order, or New Order, then Roanoke had to keep things his way. Meaning, he had to remain their leader. If he wasn't in charge of Gyrocity, then all hell would break loose.

To some, Gyrocity was something like a prison. Although, it was NOTHING compared to the gorge they had been living in for the first few months.

Those who were ungrateful, were miserable, considering that no one could leave the city without Roanoke's approval. And, even then, they had to be Pyronites that Roanoke somewhat trusted. True, he had MANY loyal subjects, but only a selected few were strong enough to make the trek from Gyrocity to the nearest civilization.

There was a dead line. There was a dead line for when whoever left the city to be back. And, when they came back from their journey, they had to have goods. These goods were to be given to merchants. The Pyronites that had taken the journey would make some money from this. But, money wasn't so much as reputation and approval from Roanoke. That was worth much more than money.

Money. They didn't use the real kind. They had it, though. Only Roanoke's most advised followers were aloud to handle it. They didn't use it. So what was it for? To give to the Travelers to buy human goods. Those that were granted access to go into town were called Travelers. Not Roanoke's idea, but it had spread around nevertheless.

What happened when a traveler didn't come back by the dead line? Simple. They were met by an Executer, or an Assistant. Which ever. Who were these Pyronites? They had to be extra special to Roanoke for him to let them out and kill off a Traveler. Yes. They killed them. Even if they weren't running away and just running late, they were still to be killed.

Many had questioned Roanoke about this, but he had explained it so simply. Those that ran away, could not be trusted. They would return one day, though, and have an army to destroy the Pyronites, even if they were their own kind. That wasn't loyalty. That was treachery. And NO ONE liked a traitor.

Others had agreed to this.

Anyway, those that Roanoke trusted to be an Assistant. Well, one was his own partner, Blaze. He wasn't the best man for the job, but he was getting stronger by the passing days and was Roanoke's most loyal follower. There was one more.

Ruza. Roanoke's 'lady friend'. She had fur as black as night and electric blue eyes, but had claws as sharp as a knife. Her speed and agility was not only attractive to Roanoke, but a fedish. When in the gorge, he had gotten close to her. Her ability to kill so swiftly and clean, plus her loyalty, made her the best person for the position. So, if someone was to killed, Roanoke would send forth Ruza. If he needed Ruza for important matters at the time, he would send forth his partner, instead.

Roanoke hadn't ever told anyone, not even Blaze, but when Blaze was sent forth to kill someone and bring their body back, Roanoke had had his own fun. Being alone in his chambers with Ruza was ... tempting. Although they weren't a couple, they would often openly flirt. When alone, things were much more tender.

Only when there was no one to be seen, and they were in a place they thought was suitable, was when they would make sweet love. Like said, Roanoke and Ruza weren't in a relationship, but would share intense moments with each other. So, if another male was hitting on Ruza, then Roanoke would openly attack.

However, as time passed and the Pyronites became more evolved, doing such actions was considered 'mating'. Ruza and Roanoke weren't mates, but they did mate often. And, when doing so, Roanoke and Ruza would leave their 'scents' on each other. The Pyronites soon found that when mating, the scent of their lover would linger for almost a whole month. That was when others found out about Roanoke and Ruza's 'relationship'.

Remember about the humans living in Gyrocity? That was no more. As time had passed, humans had left the city. Well, they were half kicked out. Roanoke and his followers had made a public announcement to all humans, telling them that they 'advised' they pack their things and move out. Roanoke had expressed 'concern' for the humans, as Gyrocity became too rough and harsh for any human.

Out of fear, the humans had left. Roanoke was secretly glad that he didn't have to get his paws dirty to get the humans to leave. So, it was official. Gyrocity was completely run by Roanoke, and his law. The New Order.

As time passed, he had gotten more and more followers. The other Pyronites respected him, even if the humans that had been kicked out referred to Roanoke as the devil, or a dictator. But Roanoke wasn't a dictator. He was the leader. An example of what true power was. Some had even gone as far to call Roanoke their king.

Roanoke, King of the Pyronites and Gyrocity.

Those that were older and had their own kits or pups would teach them of the legend that brought them all into a society, The New Order.

The legend of King Roanoke.

* * *

_Some information that you'll need to know to understand some upcoming parts in this fan fictions. Enjoy!_

_A Stitch in Time (c) redwolfproductions_  
_Ben 10 (c) Cartoon Network_


	3. Memories and Nightmares

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence/gore and strong language.**

Chapter 14 – Memories and Nightmares

After a while on wondering around, Roanoke had decided on crashing at the docks. There were shafts under each dock, so Roanoke could easily hide there. If he was hungry, there would most likely be some nested birds there, and some eggs if he felt in the mood.

Roanoke was an eating machine. He would basically eat just about anything. Once, when he was extremely hungry, he ate a trash can. Not just the contents inside, including plain trash and the plastic trash bags, but also the metal can itself. That was another trait that his people, the Pyronites, shared. They all basically had iron stomachs. When you live in a gorge, living off radioactive mushrooms and goo, a metal trash can suddenly looks appealing. The same went for the others, as well. Anything they could get their paws on.

However, as time passed, they started eating better foods, such as elk and rabbits. Meat became a life style. Everyone ate it, but only the wealthy ate the good kind of meat. Such as Roanoke. Some that were poor ate left overs, if they were lucky to eat meat at all.

Anyway, at the docks.

Roanoke, just like he thought, found plenty of nests. At first, the birds had tried pecking at Roanoke, trying to defend their nests, but once Roanoke snapped at a few, killing them instantly, the remaining birds had flown off, leaving the dead birds and eggs to Roanoke. Roanoke had a feast, eating the eggs and bird meat. Once he was full, he had gathered the clean nesting and made a giant nest for himself.

Getting comfortable, Roanoke lied down, falling asleep. Sure, he had slept for a long time before, but he wasn't used to such ... clean air. After some time of living in Gyrocity, he had gotten used to the radioactive smell and the thick, polluted air. Him and his people had gotten so used to it, living in such a clean environment seemed to weaken his system.

Although Roanoke didn't know how to get back to his time, he did know that he had to get to the gorge to see how things were ... going. Truth be told, Roanoke had just wanted to see how things were before he had 'fallen' into the gorge. He had wanted to see. Even if the sight wasn't pretty.

* * *

The next day, however, he had taken his dear sweet time. When he woke up, he got to thinking. If he was to go back in time, then wouldn't he just go back to the instant he left? Therefore, his partner and people were perfectly fine. Time hadn't gotten to that point yet. So, while he figured out how to get home, then he could screw around and do what he pleased. Just without tampering with things, that is.

So, Roanoke had gone to find something to make him 'happy'. No. Not weed or any other kind of human drug, but the kind of drug that would only work on Roanoke and his people. Catnip.

He was addicted to the stuff, but only Blaze and Ruza really knew. Roanoke had made the stuff abundant in Gyrocity. Although regular goods were highly needed, he would always give Travelers even more money for bringing back catnip. Not only did wealthy people have it, but so did everyone else.

Everyone seemed to be addicted to it. Especially Roanoke.

So, when Roanoke had approached a spice store, he had to come up with a plan. Although Roanoke wasn't really 'evil' he was a 'bad little boy'. Did what he wanted, when he wanted. And at the moment, he wanted some catnip.

* * *

"What is it?" Ben asked, hoping to hear news on Roanoke.

"Someone had called for an alien sighting." Max explained to Ben and Rook.

Ben sighed painfully. "Yes?"

"Don't be so disappointed. It has to do with Roanoke." Max informed him.

"Really?!" both Ben and Rook said at once.

Max chuckled. "Yes. There has been a sighting at the spice shop."

"Spice shop?" Ben muttered.

Max nodded. "Yes. The woman who runs it said that some giant cat creature crashed through her glass doors. He seemed to rampage and destroy everything, but only one thing was stolen."

"What would Roanoke want to steal from a spice shop?" Rook asked.

"Catnip." Max answered.

Ben gave a small sniffle of a laugh. "Catnip? Get it? Cause he's a cat? Ha! I should have known. Come on Rook, lets go get Roanoke for stealing 'catnip'."

"And for destroying a woman's business." Rook added.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Ben laughed out. "Lets just go while his tracks are still fresh."

* * *

Catnip was one of the best things for Roanoke to ever experience. Had had tried weed once, but it was foul, and didn't give the same effect as catnip. Sure, he had enjoyed the trip feeling of being on crack, but catnip brought him more joys. It was as if there was his own light show happening all around him. The smell of burning catnip was sweet and bitter at the same time, rather the foul like weed.

So, under the influence of his special drug, Roanoke had wondered into the dark parts of Bellwood. At this point, Roanoke really didn't care. He didn't care what he did, as long as at some point in this time in the past he was able to return to his resent time. Perhaps he would have to find the one guy ... with the lab coat ...

Roanoke couldn't remember. Even if he wasn't on catnip, he wouldn't be able to remember, anyway. Perhaps he could do some digging later, to find out what he couldn't remember. All Roanoke knew was that the old man used to know Ben, and he could fix time situations. Perhaps he would show up. Perhaps not. Either way, Roanoke would figure SOMETHING out.

So, there Roanoke was. Wondering around the empty cities, but not like a drunk, more like someone who had difficulty walking. Roanoke admitted to himself that taking so many hits wasn't the best idea, but he couldn't help being curious. He had gone through so much in the past week, so he wanted to dull the pain. The catnip had done the trick.

However, it also dulled his senses. His vision blurred, his hearing was a mix of voices and mumbles, and his scenes of smell was clouded by the scent of catnip. He reeked of it.

He wondered around the streets for what felt like forever, which in reality was only a few hours. Although he was under the influence, Roanoke could tell that something or someone was following him. Whatever it was, it followed him for the hours that he wondered around. By night fall, some of his senses had returned.

Suddenly, Roanoke heard snickering behind him. Swiftly turning around, he saw two figures. One was tall and a violet color and the other was pale and short. His eyes. His bright, green eyes.

"Blaze?" Roanoke said aloud, but came out hoarse and mumbled.

The two figures looked confused as they glanced at each other. Roanoke stared intently at the figure with green eyes. Suddenly, seeing that his hair was dark brown and he didn't have a flame colored pelt, Roanoke took a step back. He gave a warning hiss to Ben.

"Roanoke." Rook said, taking a step forward. "Don't. Move."

"Yeah, right!" Roanoke cried out, making the other two jump. "I'll do what I please!"

Roanoke then took another step back. Bad idea. Not knowing what was happening, something slid out from under him, making he fall down what he thought was a slope. It had happened all so fast. When Roanoke opened his eyes, trying to process everything, he found that he was on his back, facing upward. Ben and Rook stared down at him from up above.

"Roanoke, are you alright?" Rook had asked.

Roanoke didn't answer. His mind buzzed from all the catnip he had inhaled. Trying to pick himself up, he fumbled a bit, but was able to get to his feet. From there, he spun around, facing the distance, and began to run.

"Cops can't catch this!" Roanoke cried out as he ran.

The ground that Roanoke ran on was smooth, and slightly warm. What was it? It looked jet black. However, he was distracted by a thundering roaring in his ears. What was that? Stopping, Roanoke stared towards the sound. It was something huge. And it was coming full speed right at him. Being in the dark, Roanoke wasn't able to process everything. It looked like a monster with two, glowing eyes.

Like a deer in the headlights, Roanoke froze. His life seemed to flash before his eyes. The lives he had taken, the people he had lied to, the people he had trusted that stabbed him in the back. Roanoke then grinned. Yes. He had lived it well.

"Roanoke!" Ben cried out just before the monster had crashed into him.

* * *

Rook and Ben had slid down the small slope that Roanoke had tumbled over. Once they got to the ground, both ran over to the middle of the street, where Roanoke had been struck by a giant truck. The truck had stopped, and three people had gotten out of it.

Two had ran over to the front of the truck, to see what they had hit. The third one stared at Ben. "Ben Tennyson? What are you doing here?"

Ben was about to speak, but one of the men had cried out.

"Why didn't you stop?!" he yelled at the driver.

"I didn't see it coming!" the driver said, defensively.

"How could you not see that HUGE thing walking into the street?"

"He was running, and it's so damn dark outside I couldn't see a thing until we hit it!" the driver snarled.

The third person walked to where his friends were. "What is it?"

All three looked under the truck. Ben and Rook had joined them.

One of the people had looked at the front bumper. "What IS this stuff? It's ... purple."

"What? Let me see." the driver said as he looked at the bumper.

While the two examined the bumper, the other, Rook, and Ben looked under the truck.

Rook then looked up at the bumper. "It's blood."

"Did you not hear me, son? It said it's PURPLE." the rudest of the three said.

Rook just gave a sour look. "Not all blood is red."

"Well, if you're human, yes." the driver said, scratching his head.

"What you hit wasn't human." Ben pointed out. Finally, he spotted the mangled figure under the truck. "I found him!"

"Him?" the man beside Ben asked.

The two by the bumper got down on the ground.

"Help me pull it out." the driver told the man beside him.

Together, the two crawled under the truck and slowly pulled out Roanoke. Sure enough, he was cover in thick, purple blood. With one last tug, they were able to pull him out into the open. It was so dark, hardly anyone could see.

"Rook, can you give us a little light?" Ben asked.

Nodding, Rook switched his Proto-Tool to be a light. As light shone down on the body, the three people took a step back, gasping. One of the three ran over to the side, throwing up.

Rook looked like he was about to pass out.

* * *

The street was dark and cold. Although it was what seemed like day time, to Roanoke, it was a gloomy day.

Being able to see himself, Roanoke saw that he wasn't himself at all. He was Rook. Young, Revonnahgander Rook. Still his old self. Roanoke knew that he was dreaming, but everything felt so real. The emotions, the events, the time. It was all too real.

Being in his old Proto-Suit, Rook had stared blankly ahead.

"It was you, wasn't it?" a voice had asked, sternly.

Rook gazed into the green eyes of his old partner, Ben. He couldn't move, let alone speak. What could he say? Deny it? No. He couldn't deny the truth.

"Oh my God." Ben gasped, seeing Rook's hesitation.

Roanoke, or Rook, had wanted to say something. Scream to himself that it was only a dream. A memory. But he couldn't do anything as his past relived itself.

"YOU did it!" Ben cried out. "It was you!"

"B-Ben. Please, stop. You don't know what you're saying -" Rook fumbled.

"Why should I?!" Ben snarled. "YOU killed him! Rook, how could you do something so ... so HORRIBLE?"

"It wasn't me!" Rook wailed. "I was ... the voice."

"The voice?" Ben mumbled.

Ben had heard the excuse before. Voices. All Rook ever heard were voices. The 'voices' had told him to wreak his own drive and the 'voices' had told him to do this horrible crime of murder.

"It was a long time ago." Rook said, taking a step back. "It is behind me now."

Rook said the last part unconvincingly. He knew it wasn't behind him. The voices, they had told him to kill a human being. The very thing that he was sworn to protect. No. It wasn't behind him. It had haunted him since day one. Now, it was time for the truth, but not in the way Rook had ever wanted.

"You killed him, Rook! How could you?" Ben said, tears welling in his eyes.

Suddenly, becoming angered, Ben stood a step forward, his hand outstretched towards Rook.

That was when the voices had spoken. The sounds of their cries pounded against Rook's skull. No. He couldn't. He couldn't do it again, but the voices told him to. They told him to commit the same act on Ben.

'It was an accident ...' Rook thought to himself. 'I would have never ...'

On reflex, Rook had shot his arm out and shoved Ben. Hard.

Ben stumbled back and almost fell to the ground. He stared back at Rook with confusion. His partner, his friend, had done something horrible. No longer did Ben look at Rook the same way.

Rook suddenly felt shaky. Looking down at his hands, he gasped and stumbled backwards. Although in the back of his mind he knew the sight wasn't real, he couldn't help feeling weak at the knees at the sight of blood on his hands. No. He WASN'T a murderer. This wasn't happening ...

Ben took another step towards Rook, holding his ground. "What's the matter, Rook? Can't face the truth?"

Taking in a deep breath, Rook closed his eyes, wishing that it wasn't real. Then, he opened them, prepared for the truth.

"Y-yes. I killed him. But Ben, it was an accident. I didn't know what I was doing -"

"Oh, again with the 'voices'!" Ben shouted. "You know what you did! You know that you killed him! That innocent kid!"

Rook opened his mouth to say something, but he shut it, hanging his head. "I know."

Ben then reached out to grab his Plumber's badge, no doubt to call for back-up. Although Rook had NEVER wanted to do such a thing, Rook's arm lunged out. He had thought that his reflexes were going for the badge, but they didn't. His fist hit Ben square in the face, sending Ben onto the ground in shock.

Seeing Ben fall to the ground, Rook lost his control. What he did next was unforgiveable, but it was the only thing that the voices told him to do.

'Kill the boy.' they screamed. 'Finish it!'

On impulse, Rook lunged forward, like a pounce. He fell on top of Ben, both hands clenching his partner's green shirt. Ben had looked stunned, not expecting such a thing from Rook.

Rook had then pulled one of his hands into the air, clenching it into a fist. He had thrown down at Ben, hitting him in the face yet again. By now, Ben was fully prepared for a fight. He couldn't reach his Omnitrix, so he fought with his fists, too.

Placing both hands on Rook's chest, he shoved his partner back with surprising strength. However, Rook was prepared for a fight, as well. His eyes were dilated into slits and his ears pinned back. Ben, truthfully, was afraid. Never before had his partner looked so poised for an attack, and never before had he attacked Ben. The sight of determination in Rook's eyes made Ben fear for his own safety. Rook, without a doubt, looked ready to kill.

Ben grabbed Rook by the shoulders, throwing him to the side so he was on top of Rook. He clenched his fist and threw it down at Rook, but Rook was prepared. His dodged his head out of the way and threw a hand at Ben's face. It wasn't in a fist, but was just what looked to be a slap. But it wasn't a slap. His massive hand collided with Ben's head, throwing his partner to the side.

In a daze, Ben tried reached for his Omnitrix, but Rook was faster. Grabbing his partner by the arm, he held him high in the air. There was deep fear in Ben's eyes like Rook had never seen before.

'Stop!' Rook screamed to himself, but his new instincts took over.

One hand on Ben's Omnitrix, Rook held him high in the air, holding his against a wall. With his free hand, Ben tried to hit Rook, to free himself, but Rook had already reacted. His other hand flew out towards Ben, catching him by the throat.

Rook's heart pumped and his brain buzzed. This was it. This was the feeling he had before he shoved the small boy off the side of the cliff. Right after he had left a red mark on his neck. He had loved that moment. He had loved how just by holding his victim by the neck, he could decide if they lived or died. He had wanted to finish the boy then, but a part of himself told him to not take any blood. Even if he strangled the boy, he could forever see blood in his visions. So, he had thrown the boy off the cliff and inside a gorge.

He had thought that by not killing the boy directly, he wouldn't have the death on his conscience, but he had been wrong. The small boy had haunted his dreams every night and was on his mind every day. Now, he was facing the truth.

He was facing his partner.

Oh, God. What was he doing?

Shaking, Rook realized what he had been doing. He was hurting Ben. No ...

His eyes returned to their natural state and his ears went back up. His breathing was shaky, like he would pass out. He instantly pulled his hand away from Ben's neck and released his arm.

Rook stumbled back, looked at his limp partner. What had he done?

The voices in his head kept telling him to finish it, kill Ben, but Rook could never do such a thing.

To Rook's relief, Ben drew in a sharp breath, choking. There was a red mark around his throat, where Rook had almost strangled him. He lied on the ground, taking in shuttered breaths. Rook just stood and stared.

No. This wasn't happening.

This was a dream. It was all just a bad dream.

Although in his head, Roanoke knew it was a dream, it was also a memory. A horrible memory.

Rook then looked at his hands. Although he hadn't drawn any blood, there was an illusion of red, thick blood on his hands.

Rook then heard the voices in his head. Out of pure frustration, Rook had released a scream. This caused a great reaction from Ben, staring blankly at his partner.

Looking down at Ben, Rook decided it was time to end this. From Rook's gaze, Ben had closed his eyes tightly, waiting for his partner to finish him, but it never came. Opening his eyes again, Ben saw Rook running away into the distance.

Little did Ben know he would never see Rook again. There would forever be the tale of how Rook had taken his own life by jumping into the same gorge he threw the small boy.

* * *

Heart thudding against his chest, Roanoke had snapped his eyes open. His breathing was shuttered due to the nightmare. When he awoke, he was still, unable to move. His muscles felt like they were on fire. He opened his mouth to cry out, but nothing happened. His vision was blurred, but there was suddenly a bright light.

A voice. There was a voice. No matter how hard he tried, Roanoke couldn't make out who's voice it was, or what they were saying. But after a while of staring into the bright light, Roanoke was able to tell that the light was a small flashlight. The kind that doctors shinned in patient's eyes.

Roanoke was now able to hear.

"Roanoke? Can you hear me?" a female said.

Roanoke felt a hand be placed on top of his.

"Roanoke?" she said, again. "Can you give me a grip?"

Roanoke didn't give her a grip. He wasn't sure if it was because he was too stunned, or the fact that he didn't know if he could trust this person. He hardly trusted anyone.

The female switched off the light. "He is responding to light, but his muscles and reflexes are out."

Suddenly, on impulse, Roanoke gave the hand a squeeze.

From the action, the female cried out with joy, in a voice used for small children. "Good job, Roanoke!"

"Do you really need to talk to him like a baby?" a strong male asked.

"He's hurt, Kevin." the female said.

"So?" the same male asked.

Suddenly, there came Ben's voice. "His mind might be scrambled. He got hit by a truck, after all."

"Well, he looks like it." Kevin said rudely.

"Can you help him, Gwen?" Ben asked.

The female, who was called Gwen, pulled her hand away from Roanoke's. "There isn't much I can do, but I can make sure that he heals properly."

"Alright," Kevin said aloud. "Someone explain to me what happened. He got hit by a truck, but he doesn't have any broken bones? How does THAT work?"

"He did have broken bones." Rook said from the back, but seemed to be walking up closer. "At least, he did when we found him."

"And HOW does he not have broken bones now?" Kevin snarled.

Ben was about to reply, but there came a mumble from Roanoke.

"Radio ..." he grumbled.

"Radio?" Kevin mumbled. "This guy almost died and he wants to listen to the RADIO?"

Suddenly, all of Roanoke's senses snapped back on. This often happened. He would become stunned for a while from being seriously hurt, but he would instantly snap out of it. His body healed at an extended rate, letting him gain his lost strength.

Instantly, Roanoke sat up in the bed. The four people in the room gasped and took a step back. This mangled creature, who had a busted side and half his face was ripped apart, sat up in bed without feeling much pain.

To Roanoke, the pain would mostly come when he healed. His broken bones were already beginning to stitch themselves back together. He must have broken some ribs, because of the fact that his chest felt on fire.

The cut that he gotten on his arm from crashing the ship had completely disappeared, fur had already grown over where the skin had been cut open. Roanoke then realized that there was something wrong with his face. One of his eyes had been hardly able to open, while the skin on that side was loose, hanging.

Taking his hand, Roanoke felt his face. The pain made him jerk his hand back, hissing.

"Shit." he growled.

He stared at the four who had been staring back. Their eyes wide with interest, or disgust. Ignoring them for the moment, Roanoke placed his hand over the damaged side of his face. The pain made him want to pull away, but he knew that he had to fix it.

Taking in deep breaths, Roanoke concentrated on relaxing. There was a low gasp from one of the four watchers, but Roanoke didn't mind. He waited until his face felt as if it was becoming tight. The skin and fur began to stitch itself back together. Once it had finished, Roanoke pulled his hand away.

He blinked both his eyes, making sure that he was able to see, again. Feeling the side of his face, he was able to tell that the skin and fur had grown back perfectly. Out of nervous habit, Roanoke looked down at his wrist. To his relief, his marking was still there. The same tattoo that he had gotten when he first created The New Order. The same tattoo that he had ordered for everyone else to have. He sighed painfully at the sight. For the first time since he had went back into the past, he felt lonely.

Not only had he missed his partner, Blaze, but he had missed Ruza, his lover. He had also missed his subjects, the same creatures that worshipped him, and saw him not just as a king, but as a god.

Roanoke had taken his dear sweet time because he felt as if he needed a break, but now he knew that he had to return back home.

Home ...

His city. His kingdom.

For once in a long time, Roanoke had missed being a king.

After a while of silence, the tall male, Kevin, spoke up. "What's that thing on your wrist?"

Roanoke instantly pulled his hand away from view, holding against his side. His cat-like eyes were pinned on Kevin. His stare was intense, but Kevin gave just as hard of a stare.

With a grunt, Roanoke answered. "Both my shame, and my pride."

"A tattoo?" Ben asked.

It was as if they had all forgotten that Roanoke had crashed Rook's ship, stolen some catnip, and had been hit by a truck at top speed. This made Roanoke sigh.

"Yes." he answered. "A marking."

"What for?" Gwen had then asked.

"To mark who we are." Roanoke answered, bowing his head. He could still feel his rips slowly stitching themselves back together. However, it had no longer hurt. It was more of a numb feeling. Not able to feel his body and limbs, Roanoke had allowed himself to lie back down on his side.

Gwen, who had a soft touch, had reached out towards Roanoke. On instinct, Roanoke had given Gwen a snarl, making Kevin take a step forward. Waving a hand at her boyfriend, Gwen just reached over and lightly grabbed Roanoke's limp hand. She turned it around so the under side of his wrist was facing upward. It was the same wrist that had the tattoo.

By the kind touch, Roanoke had calmed down, closing his eyes and letting her examine his marking. After a few moments, she spoke.

"Is this a radioactive symbol?" she said half to herself.

Roanoke hummed in the way that was meant to be a yes.

"But ... why?" she puzzled.

"The New Order." Roanoke mumbled, half asleep. "It is meant to represent The New Order."

"The New Order?" Rook had asked, now standing beside Ben.

"Yes ..." Roanoke said with a small yawn. "To show the alliance made and loyalty to the king."

"A king?" Ben mumbled. He then smiled, thinking it was himself.

"The king ..." Roanoke repeated. "King Roanoke."

Silence filled the room.

* * *

_Posted two in one day? Yes. You're welcome._

_A Stitch in Time (c) redwolfproductions_  
_Ben 10 (c) Cartoon Network_


	4. Oh, The Wonders of Being King

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence/gore and strong language.**

Chapter 4 – Oh, The Wonders of Being King

Things had only gotten more awkward from there. Mostly for Rook, who had to take everything in.

At one point, Ben had even worried about Rook, who seemed like he was about to pass out from all the information. Well, not so much the information itself, but what the information WAS. Rook still couldn't believe that he would become something so foul and power hungry.

Roanoke had explained to the group that his tattoo, his marking, was also a sign of loyalty. Every Pyronite was to have one. Each was made out of blood, symbolizing what true loyalty was. Just from this small bit of information, Roanoke had received a huge amount of questions.

"What's an Eve?"

"Aren't Pyronites the aliens from a fire planet?"

"How does an 'Eve's' blood symbolize loyalty?"

Roanoke then sighed, answering all the questions as best as he could. "An Eve is a creature that developed from the radioactive waste, such as we did, but they were another life form. That was what happened. There were two life forms created. The Pyronites, which is my kind, and the Eves. We were created much more superior than them, so it only figures that we would live with a higher life style. Eves prefer to live in packs in the forest. Or what's left of it.

"And NO. My kind of Pyronites are COMPLETELY different. I can hardly remember what the alien kind of Pyronites are, but I do know that they are NOTHING like us.

"And as for the Eve's blood. It contains chemicals that bind them and their pack together, but not only loyalty, but by bloodline. An Eve's blood determines which pack they belong to, making them completely loyal. I created the idea of marking ourselves with the blood of a certain pack. Not just any pack, but the strongest and most powerful pack of Eves known. It is also the last living pack left."

Gwen processed everything, then rose another topic on the Eve's blood. "So, when you imprint one of your kind with the blood ..."

"Then the chemicals take over their system, making them loyal to The New Order." Roanoke finished. "And the Alpha. Or in this case, the King."

"So, you?" Kevin muttered.

Roanoke gave a small growl. He didn't like this 'Kevin' at all. Then again, he didn't like anyone that challenged his authority. "Yes. That would be me. When I was imprinted, the Eve's blood was a specific kind. It was that of an Alpha Eve."

"How do you imprint it?" Ben asked, curious.

"Well," Roanoke began. "It isn't like how humans tattoo themselves. First, you would need to hunt down an Eve. That has to be the hard part. Since they travel in packs, they protect one another. However, we don't need to hunt them anymore, considering we just recently made an alliance with them. We agreed to not kill them or their young if they give us a sacrifice once a month. We then take the blood and boil it until it is as hot as it can get before the night of a full moon. That is when we have our Full Moon Gathering. It is basically like a festival, but with bright lights and alcohol. And, sometimes, at the end of the Gathering we have a naming ceremony. Where one, or maybe more, of the apprentices take on their new name and are given their marking, making them a full member of The New Order."

"So, from all this, you're basically a dictator?" Kevin said, smugly.

Instead of getting defensive, or denying it, Roanoke just a did a low, sick chuckle.

The laugh made Rook feel dizzy, as if he would pass out.

Roanoke just then looked up at Kevin. "Some may say."

There was another awkward silence that filled the musty room that Roanoke was being kept in, but the truth was, he could do anything he wanted when he wanted. He had gotten so used to this that he truly believed that he could do so.

Ben, though, had to break the silence. "How did you get that scar on your face?"

Roanoke released what seemed to be a sigh and a grumble. "I got this scar from my old mentor, Eon."

Rook seemed surprised, and worried. "Your mentor beat you?"

Roanoke half growled to himself. "Yes. However, I wouldn't be the man I am today without those lessons. Life is tough. I just simply adapted to our new way of life style. These are the same lessons that I passed down to my apprentice."

"You have a partner AND apprentice?" Gwen asked.

Roanoke chuckled. "Blaze was my old apprentice at one point. It took me a while, but I was able to toughen him up. Now, not only is he a full member of The New Order, but he is also my partner, second in command of the kingdom. Some day, when my time has come, Blaze will be imprinted for a second time, this time with the blood of an Alpha Eve, making him the new king of Gyrocity."

After that, any further questions were ignored. Although he wasn't sure about time travel concepts, he did know that he shouldn't give too much away. And he might have done so already. So, he decided on keeping his mouth shut, giving his captors the silent treatment. He would leave when he wanted. No one could keep him captive.

After all, Roanoke was also well known for being the master of escaping prisons. He had escaped a few back in Bellwood, so he was more than able to escape a cramped, old room. Although, he was sure that while he sat in silence, his captors talked in private about what to do with Roanoke. Whatever they were planning, it couldn't be worse than what Roanoke had already gone through.

* * *

During the whole conversation, Rook had been silent. Normally, he would be pitching ideas here and there or just correcting ideas that had major flaws, but this time around, he was unnaturally silent.

Then again, Ben didn't blame him. Seeing your future self was one thing, but seeing what an animal they had become was another. Ben had seen his future self a couple times, but was never ashamed of it. In fact, he found his future self to be cool, or an idol to Ben.

With Rook, though, things weren't as peachy. All Rook ever wanted to do was grow up to be a great Plumber and Revonnahgander, but from the looks of it, he would soon grow up to be neither.

At the beginning, Rook had just wished that this was all just a sick joke, but as it turned out, everything was all too real.

And where was Ben in all of this? The future Ben, anyway.

He couldn't be Ben 10,000, considering that time wasn't that far back, so who was Ben? Was he the same, or had he changed, too? Although it was a selfish thought, Ben only hoped that he hadn't turned into the same creature as Rook had. However, from the sound of it, Roanoke had hardly thought of Ben, so he couldn't be anything like Rook, or near him for that matter. Perhaps he still lived somewhere in Bellwood. Things couldn't have changed THAT much ... Could they?

* * *

After a while of discussing the matter, the group had decided on letting Roanoke stay in the ware house. Just for a while longer.

So, even though they all knew it wasn't the best idea, they left Roanoke alone in the ware house for the whole night.

* * *

Returning the next morning, this time with only Ben and Rook, they were met with a pleasant surprise. Well, if by pleasant then you mean a HUGE amount of destruction, then yes, things were perfectly pleasant.

"What. Did. You. DO?!" Ben cried out.

Rook, too, was in awe at the amount of destruction done to the inside of the small ware house.

The cot that Roanoke had been resting on was completely ripped open, the fluff and springs on the inside spilled out all over the floor. The walls and curtains had been completely ripped by claws, as if an animal had thrown a fit. Boxes that were stacked all around the ware house were burst open, revealing the contents inside. Just about everything was some kind of tech, along with millions of packing peanuts.

Out of the mounts of packing peanuts popped out a fuzzy head. Roanoke smiled at his visitors before diving back under. After some shuffling around, he popped back out, this time with something that looked almost like Rook's Proto-Tool.

Sliding off from the top of the packing peanut mount, Roanoke stood before the two, grinning with satisfaction.

"What happened!?" Rook yelled out.

Roanoke, as if he wasn't sure what they were talking about, looked around behind him. "Hm?"

"You trashed the place!" Ben screamed.

Realizing what they were talking about, Roanoke just slightly pinned his ears back and grinned, embarrassed. "Oh, that. I was looking through the boxes. You know, cause I was bored out of my mind."

"Well, you didn't have to destroy everything else!" Ben yelled.

Roanoke gave Ben a serious look. "Yes I did."

"Roanoke," Rook interrupted. "What is that you're holding?"

"Oh." Roanoke said, perking up. "It's a Fuel Engine Processor."

"Never heard of it." Ben muttered.

"Neither have I." Rook added. "What does it do?"

Roanoke gave a sly look before aiming the gun-like tool towards a wall. "Watch and learn."

Pressing a knob, the miniature machine shot a thin, laser-like beam at the wall. At first, Ben and Rook thought that it would just burn through, like a ray-gun, but it created what looked like a blue vortex.

Rook gasped. "You created another way back into your time?"

Roanoke snorted. "No. This is just the first step. I got to thinking last night on how to get back home. This might be able to aid us."

"Us?" Ben muttered.

"Well, what is it then?" Rook asked.

"A portal." Roanoke answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I tried it last night. It won't be able to move from one place to another until I find another couple parts for this. For now, all it does is let you move through walls."

"That sucks." Ben huffed. "You trashed the entire ware house just to make something that lets you move through walls."

"Ah, but you just wait, Ben Tennyson!" Roanoke cried out with excitement. "Soon, I will turn this into a full-out portal, then I'll be able to somehow turn it into a time portal, like the one I came though."

"The key word being 'somehow'." Ben pointed out.

Roanoke shrugged his shoulders, again. "I'll figure something out. I always do. I guess I'll just cross that bridge when it comes."

"There is going to be a bridge? What does that have to do with portals or time travel?" Rook asked, completely confused.

Roanoke leaned over beside Ben. "I still don't get expressions?"

"Sadly." Ben answered, shaking his head.

* * *

Roanoke had told Ben and Rook that he needed to get some place high. For a birds eye view. At first, Ben and Rook weren't sure if they should trust Roanoke, considering he had a problem with being 'calm', but they had taken him to the park nevertheless. There, he could climb the giant tree that towered over part of the huge city they had. Sure, there were much higher places, but the park was closest.

Roanoke was wearing much different clothes than he had when he first came back in time. Rather than wearing a Nike hoodie and some baggy jeans, he was wearing some baggy, ripped, and faded jeans, along with a Tapout t-shirt.

When Ben looked at him, he had to admit that even though future Rook was a little twisted and messed up, he was kind of cool. Not in just looks, though, but in his personality. He not only seemed to now understand expressions, but he also understood the wonders of acting slick.

"Hey, Roanoke." Ben said, as they walked into the park. "Why don't you wear shoes?"

"I could wear shoes." Roanoke pointed out. "I just prefer not to. I'm faster on my paws, anyway. Shoes would just slow me down."

That was another thing about Roanoke. His feet, or hind paws, were like an ordinary cat's paws, large and fuzzy, but his hands, or front paws, were like a human's, but somewhat cat-like.

And holy crap, he was TALL. About a whole foot taller than Rook, even. His tail was also long, flicking back and forth with interest and irritation. This interested Ben greatly. Even Rook, who seemed ashamed of his future self, was becoming fascinated with Roanoke's nature.

As the three walked through the public park, people seemed to be both afraid and interested in Roanoke. They had seen aliens in the city before, but nothing like Roanoke. He seemed to be some kind of were-cat to them, this being why mostly females were attracted to his appearance. Some males, however, found his style to be something interesting.

Dogs also had a strange reaction towards the giant cat. They weren't sure if they were to approach him, or be greatly frightened. However, when Roanoke turned and gave a pack of curious canines a loud and thunderous hiss, they ran off yelping, with tails between their legs.

For some reason, Rook had found this amusing. Ben had seen his partner's reaction, and wasn't sure what to make of it. Hadn't it only been a day ago that Rook was frightened by the mere sight of Roanoke? Now, Rook seemed to look up to Roanoke with admiration.

Suddenly, just when they had approached the giant tree in the middle of the park, a small group of women had walked right up to Roanoke, seeming to avoid Ben and Rook.

One of the women walked closer to Roanoke, while the others hung back, seeing how things went.

"H-hello." she muttered, fumbling with her long hair.

Taking a quick glance at the tall girl with a mature figure, Roanoke gave a genuine grin. "Why, hello there."

The girl glanced back at her friends, who giggled, encouraging her to continue. Turning back to Roanoke, she gave a shy smile. "Um ... I, we, were wondering why we haven't seen you around the park. Or around the city."

Ben had then feared that Roanoke would spill the beans, or slip up, but Roanoke retained his confident look, seeming to give a sly look at the mature woman. "I guess you could say I'm new here. My name is Roanoke. Now, I would assume that something as gorgeous as you would have name. Am I correct?"

The girl flushed, but when looked down, giggling. Her friends, too, couldn't contain their giggles.

Ben, surprised, turned and whispered to Rook. "Are you ... flirting?"

Rook was equally as surprised. "Am I?"

Looking back up at Roanoke, the girl placed her hands behind her hips and slightly swayed, an attempt to look tempting. She had then leaned over, extremely close to Roanoke, whispering something.

Ben and Rook had tried to listen, but couldn't hear what they were saying, but then again, they didn't want to know. The girl gave off a lot of flirtation, but Roanoke gave off even more, making Ben and Rook a little embarrassed to watch.

Once they had finished, the girl backed off, giving Roanoke one last glance before walking away with her friends. They all crowded around the girl, whispering and giggling.

In utter disbelief, Ben ran over to Roanoke. "Hey, what was that all about?"

Roanoke just gave a sly grin. "Oh, don't worry about it."

Ben, irritated, turned to Rook. "This makes me wonder what you do with your life in the future."

"Well," Roanoke said as he turned towards the trunk of the tree. "It mostly consists of smoking catnip, playing Black Ops, and kicking some ass."

Repositioning himself, Roanoke lunged upward. His front paws latched onto the tree, which seemed to be used as claws, even though they didn't look like it. Both Ben and Rook were surprised to see that Roanoke's hind paws had long claws that dug sharply into the tree's bark.

Lunging forward into long leaps to climb, Roanoke flew up the side of the tree. Once he got to the nearest branch, he crawled onto it to rest. He looked back down at Ben and Rook, who were looking at the Pyronite with interest.

Looking back up towards the top of the tree, Roanoke lunged back onto the trunk, but had only done one bound before he was on to the next branch. He continued this for a while. Lunging in bounds on the trunk as he went branch to branch. As he did so, he seemed to spiral around the tree, circling around it. The speed and agility surprised not only Ben and Rook, but the others who had gathered to watch the strange new creature that was climbing their tree.

Once Roanoke had gotten to the top of the tree, he peered over the city. It was just as he remembered it. Cramped and full of alien life forms. Not exactly his kind of town.

After a while, Roanoke sighed and climbed back down the truck. Once he got to the bottom, he looked at Rook and Ben with a blank expression. "I saw what I wanted."

"What? You never told us what you wanted to see." Ben said, feeling impatient.

Smiling slyly, Roanoke chuckled. "That is for me to know and you to find out."

Ben just snorted, feeling all the more irritated, but he didn't say anything else. All he could was turn to his partner, but had to stop himself from gasping.

Wasn't it not too long ago that Rook was disgusted by the mere sight of Roanoke?

Now, when Ben looked at Rook, his partner's eyes were full of ... pride?

The way Rook saw it, Roanoke wasn't a monster or a devil, but more something ... wonderful. Roanoke was taller, more well built, and had MUCH more experience, and not just with human language and culture, but just EVERYTHING. He had much more confidence than Rook did, and he wasn't afraid to show his authority.

Other humans seemed to admire Roanoke, even more than Rook. He was a strong leader. A king, in fact. Although Rook knew that there had to be something sketchy for such power to come to him in the future, Rook couldn't help being dazzled by the sight of his future self.

Seeing the admiration in Rook's eyes, Roanoke chuckled to himself. Oh, if only he knew how awesome it was to have such power, loyal subjects, and wealth.

However, no one had told Roanoke of how the power would go to his head. That was just it. They never told you the dangers, but just the wonders of leadership.

No one had warned Roanoke, so he wasn't going to warn Rook. Doing so wasn't being selfish, it was being smart. After all, if Rook didn't become Roanoke, who would lead The New Order?

* * *

"Shit!" Roanoke had cried out.

"What? What is it?" Rook had questioned quickly, worried.

"Don't you hear that?" Roanoke hissed.

"Hear what?" Ben asked, not really that interested.

Roanoke was turned towards Rook. "Serious? Wow. I forgot what my senses were like before -"

Roanoke was cut off as there was a loud and powerful tremble below them. Not too long after the tremble came a loud cracking noise.

The three were now standing in the middle of a wide and mostly empty street. Suddenly, the paved ground below their feet slit. They all ran off to the side, keeping clear of the large section below them that chipped away.

Once the trembling stopped, there was a huge crack in the middle of the once flat street. Just when they thought things couldn't get any more strange, there came hot, oozing lava.

"See! What did I tell you?" Roanoke cried out.

"How the hell did you hear that?!" Ben shouted.

Roanoke looked like he was about to explain something, but he just sighed. "It's complicated."

Before any of the three could react, there came another tremble as something seemed to bubble in the lava. Suddenly, something long and huge erupted from the lava. Raising to the size of over a two-story building, the creature's body seemed to repel the lava as it slid down it's long snake-like body.

Now that they looked at it, the creature looked like a giant night crawler. There were no legs, but it seemed to easily tear through pavement and withstand boiling lava.

"Shit." Roanoke swore. "Never thought I'd see one of these again."

"What? What is it?" Ben asked quickly.

Roanoke looked like he was about to answer the question, but there was no time to waste as the creature gave a terrifying screech, it's head plummeting towards where the three watchers were positioned.

As Rook used his quick reflexes, he instantly launched himself to one side, with Roanoke closely behind. Ben wasn't as quick as he moved to the other side, making him stumble from upturned pavement and falling to his side.

The creature's head came back out from the paved ground, shaking it to shake off bits of pavement stuck to it's head. Ben, Roanoke, and Rook all stared at the creature with blank expressions, not sure what to do.

Once the creature had shaken off the last of the pavement, it turned towards Rook and Roanoke, but then turned it's head back to Ben, who lied on the ground, looking helpless.

"Ben!" Rook cried out.

Roanoke on the other hand didn't hesitate as he launched himself towards where Ben was with surprising speed. He moved even faster then the worm that dove it's head down towards Ben.

Closing his eyes shut, Ben prepared himself to the bone crushing impact, but there was none. Confused, he opened his green eyes and gasped in amazement.

The worm had what looked to be long, tooth-like jaws. Instead of using them to slice Ben, they were held down to the ground, clamped together. Roanoke held the two jaws firmly together, holding the creature to the ground. His speed and courage got another gasp, but this time from Rook.

Realizing what was happening, the worm quickly launched it's head into the air, sending Roanoke up until he had released the worm's jaws. As Roanoke flew through mid air, he let out what seemed to be a high pitched yowl.

Seeing an opportunity, the worm lifted it's head high up into the air, jaws open.

"Roanoke!" Ben yelled, but it was too late.

The worm had risen up, it's jaws surrounding Roanoke, and then closing them tightly with Roanoke inside. Once it had grabbed Roanoke, the worm slid back down until it's entire body was back inside the lava.

Both Rook and Ben watched, mouths open.

However, before either could say anything, there was another rumbling. The pavement below them began to slit. Acting quickly, Rook had ran over to Ben, helped him up, and ran away from the ground breaking beneath them.

Once the pavement had broken again, even more lava had slipped out the side, bubbling onto the street.

Then, Ben felt a light tap on his shoulder. Quickly turning around, Ben faced a purple-ish skinned alien, her arms crossed.

"Hey, Ben."

"Ester?" Ben gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Ester playfully rolled her eyes. "Nothing much. I just noticed that part of my home is being destroyed by a giant worm and I thought you might be up here kicking it's butt. Assuming it has a butt."

Rook, who clearly still didn't like Ester, sighed. "Well, you are sadly mistaken."

Ben snorted. "Well, once it showing it's ugly face again, then -"

Ben was cut off as the worm erupted from the lava once again. The three stared at the creature as it seemed to desperately flail in the air.

All three were shocked once there came something pounding on it's insides, making it's way to the top of the worm. Once whatever was inside had gotten to the top, the creature's jaws slowly began to open.

Rook gasped. "Roanoke!"

Indeed, there was Roanoke, on the edge of the worm's mouth, prying the jaws open with his own hands.

Ben, seeing Ester's astonished expression, turned to her as she seemed to just about gasp in awe. She stared at Roanoke with great intent.

She gave a slight whistle. "Who is THAT?"

Ben then had to admit that Roanoke looked pretty impressive with his great strength and speed. As he held open the monster's jaws, he flashed a smug look towards Ben before ducking back into the mouth.

"What is he DOING?" Ben wailed.

Just as the word escaped Ben's lips, the creature automatically opened it's jaws as it revealed that Roanoke had his arms tightly wrapped around the creature's tongue.

"Cat got your tongue?" Roanoke chuckled.

Using all his might, Roanoke launched himself forward, ripping out the long, thick tongue with him. As he did so, strange, rusty colored blood spout out of the creature's mouth and throat. As Roanoke leaped out of the creature's mouth, it feel towards the ground, just behind Roanoke.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. First, Roanoke fell to the ground, but used the ripped, blooded tongue as an air bag. Once he hit the tongue and ground, more blood shot out of the tongue, spraying all over the pavement and running lava.

Next, the creature fell to the ground with a giant thud. It's head was the last part of it to hit the ground, landing right next to Roanoke.

Acting quickly, Roanoke wiggled off the appendage and launched himself at the worm's lower jaw. Getting a firm hold, he stared his victim in the eye, giving a sick and twisted grin before finishing the job. In one quick movement, Roanoke ripped the lower jaw upward, making it rip off from the skull itself. Even more rusty colored blood spilled out of it's mouth, creating a pool around Roanoke's feet.

Roanoke was covered in a thin layer of worm's slime and drenched in worm blood. Flicking his tail in victory, Roanoke then shook furiously, spraying blood and slime everywhere.

Lucky, none of it had hit the three watchers.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Ester cried out.

Giving a flirtatious grin, Roanoke walked towards his three onlookers.

"Yes. Yes it was." Roanoke said in a smooth voice.

"Who are you?" Ester asked in amazement.

Giving a sly grin, Roanoke crossed his arms. "My name would be Roanoke. Now, I believe it isn't everyday I get to see a species as beautiful as your kind."

Ester caught herself from blushing. "I'm Ester. And are you always this cocky?"

"Well, only on Tuesdays. Or whenever there is a pretty woman involved." Roanoke answered coolly.

"So, you think I'm pretty?" Ester said in a slightly flirting voice, making Ben slightly snort.

"Actually, it's Tuesday."

* * *

_I guess you get to see more of epic Roanoke in this chapter. _

_A Stitch in Time (c) redwolfproductions_  
_Ben 10 (c) Cartoon Network_


	5. Secrets

Chapter 5 - Secrets

"Well?" Ben hissed under his breath. "Are you?"

Rook looked shocked. "Why must I be the one to ask him?"

"He's YOU." Ben said forcefully. "It would only make sense."

"Nothing makes sense about that theory." Rook mumbled.

Ben sighed. "Whatever. I'm not asking, though. So if you want to know, then YOU'LL have to ask Roanoke."

Rook looked behind him, just to make sure that Roanoke was still off in the distance, testing out his invention. Truth was, Rook DID want to know. He wanted to know SO badly, but he didn't even know where to begin.

Rook just sighed and looked back at Ben. "Alright. Fine."

Ben thought for a moment. "Okay. You and Roanoke go out on patrol in Undertown, and I'll patrol around up here."

Rook blinked in surprise. "Undertown?"

"Keeping a low profile." Ben mumbled.

"Oh." Rook said, looking back at Roanoke, who seemed to stand out. "I understand."

* * *

Roanoke sat in the passenger seat of Rook's truck. The cat-like man had his elbow on the side door and his chin rested in his hand. Roanoke looked bored.

Rook wasn't even sure what to say, or do. How was he to begin?

However, Roanoke was the first to speak. "I ... think I remember this place."

Rook blinked. "It is Undertown."

Roanoke just grumbled and looked back out the window as the continued to drive. This confused Rook greatly.

"You ... do not remember Undertown?" Rook asked.

Roanoke didn't answer. His face was turned away from Rook, looking towards the window and out into Undertown. Roanoke's tail flicked back and forth in irritation. Rook had not meant to irritate Roanoke. Rook held his breath, deciding not to talk anymore.

* * *

The two had driven around Undertown for what seemed like almost an hour. Roanoke had just continued to stare out the window, his mind some place else.

Roanoke was a strange character. If Rook hadn't known that Roanoke was Rook himself, then Rook would've never liked him. Well, to be honest, Rook didn't like Roanoke that much at all. It was a strange thing to say, considering that Roanoke and Rook were the same person, but Rook deep down knew it was true.

Roanoke was arrogant, selfish, and only thought of himself. He seemed to be a bit of a hot head, too. Rook was none of these things. How could they be so different?

After a while, Roanoke had turned and gave a wide yawn, showing long and sharp teeth. "We should walk, now."

Rook didn't question. Just nodding, Rook parked his truck and got out of his truck. Roanoke got out, as well.

The two walked around the streets of Undertown. There was an awkward silence that seemed to follow them, and Rook knew it. He would often glance over at Roanoke, but the warrior kept a stone face of concentration. Rook was confused greatly by this. He had wanted to ask Roanoke so many questions, but yet, he didn't want to set him off in any way.

Aliens that walked by seemed to be transfixed by Roanoke. He wasn't like anything they had ever seen before. Others would stare at Roanoke, or worse, they wouldn't look at all. Roanoke would look as if he weren't bothered by this, but he would often flick his ears or give irritated growls from his chest.

Roanoke stood tall and proud, but he didn't fool Rook. If Roanoke was a king, then he must have been used to having a stone face and a tall posture.

Rook took in a deep breath. "So ... you're a king."

"Yep." Roanoke muttered.

There was another awkward silence.

"And ... how exactly did that happen?" Rook asked.

Roanoke sighed. "It is a long and complicated story."

"We have time." Rook tried.

Roanoke remained silent, just looking ahead and avoiding Rook's gaze. However, after a while, he released a pained sigh. "Perhaps sometime I shall tell you."

"Yeah, but WHEN?" Rook wailed, as if he were a child.

Roanoke snorted. "I am a character full of many secrets, most of which are dark and dangerous. If I told you such secrets, then they wouldn't be secrets anymore, would they?"

"Dark and dangerous?" Rook muttered. "What do you mean?"

Roanoke sighed again. "Just ... forget it, alright?"

"But I can't." Rook whispered.

Roanoke exhaled deeply. "I know. You and I, we are the same. Both are full of such curiosity."

Rook thought for a moment. "If you won't tell me how you became king, will you tell me how you became -"

"DON'T." Roanoke seemed to growl, his fur standing on end. "Just ... don't."

'Such a monster.' Rook thought to himself.

Rook then folded his arms, looking away. He then felt as if he had ruined any chances of figuring out any more information from Roanoke. However, Rook wasn't willing to give up so easily, and Roanoke seemed to know it.

"All I ever wanted to do was become the greatest Plumber I could be, and grow into a great Revonnahgander." Rook said loudly, making sure that Roanoke could hear. "You, on the other hand, seem to be running away from such goals."

"And all I want to do is go home." Roanoke growled. "And forget about all of this."

"You seem to do THAT just fine, though." Rook pointed out. "You seem to never want to remember, yet always forget."

"Forget what is useless, and move forward towards what is the future." Roanoke muttered. "What is so bad about that?"

Rook seemed to flare with irritation. "You are so arrogant! How can we be the same person? We are NOTHING alike!"

Roanoke stopped walking, and so did Rook.

Roanoke turned on his heels and faced Rook. "We are more alike then you realize, Rook. We both crave power. It is not hard to realize how I became such a powerful leader. You say you follow the rules like a good little Plumber. 'Sit Rook. Stay Rook. Be a good little Plumber Rook!' Ha! What makes you think you'll stay in such a state? You'll break one way or another. And when you do, your kingdom with welcome you with open arms."

Rook took a step back. "That is not true! I would never turn!"

Roanoke smirked. "You are fighting with yourself. That is not wise."

"Stop that." Rook said, shaking his head. "Your mind games won't work on me."

Roanoke shrugged, still having a smug look. "What mind games? I'm a king, remember? A king needs to know how to toy with the minds of his people. Even with the mind of himself."

"I ... don't understand."

Roanoke chuckled. "I know you don't. That means it works. I'm more of a single minded person."

"But ... you have a partner." Rook said, completely confused.

Roanoke looked towards his feet, giving another chuckle. He looked back up at Rook. "I'm not exactly a 'partner' type of guy. 'Partner' is more just a title, my right hand man that takes care of all my dirty work. Having a REAL partner just isn't my 'thing'. After all, how do you think I became king in the first place?"

Rook's heart began to beat hard in his chest. "Ben ... what happened to him?"

Roanoke smirked. "Now, you see? That would be an example of one of my 'dark and dangerous' secrets."

Rook blinked in surprise. "You're not going to tell me?"

Roanoke gave a sly look as he turned and began walking again. "Walk with me, and perhaps I will."

Rook got a sudden sick feeling, but at the same time he was being eaten alive with curiosity. So, he followed Roanoke through the streets of Undertown.

"Now," Roanoke said, making a point. "I hope you take note that power ALWAYS comes with a price, no matter what."

Rook nodded, although he wasn't sure why Roanoke would be telling him why.

"And," Roanoke said, pausing for effect. "You should know that a 'partnership' means that power is distributed. If one has a different opinion on something, then there will be a battle for power. However, if there was just ONE in control, then all that power would be in their hands, just for them to mold and bend to that one person's will."

"What does this have to do with Ben?" Rook asked.

"Use that brain of yours." Roanoke snarled.

Rook thought silently for a moment. "So ... Ben and I were partners for a period of time. I understand this. We are still partners now, though."

"Yes. I have noticed this, too." Roanoke said, sighing. "And?"

"And ..." Rook thought harder. "There was an imbalance of power?"

"Exactly." Roanoke said with a sly grin. "Ben didn't understand my ... 'methods'."

"Something happened." Rook thought aloud to himself.

"Yes." Roanoke muttered. "Something indeed did happen. Something that I wish I could forget. I may not be able to remember much about my life, but I can remember what happened the day that the balance of power of over thrown."

"What happened?" Rook asked, now wanting to know right off the bat.

Roanoke sighed. "Something you shouldn't know about until you experience it yourself."

Rook stopped walking and blocked Roanoke's path. "I have a pretty good idea of what happened."

"Oh, you do?" Roanoke snarled.

"Yeah." Rook said with a stern face. "What did you do to Ben?"

Roanoke snorted. "Don't you mean what did YOU do to Ben?"

Rook seemed to shutter, taking a step back. When Roanoke tried to side step around him, Rook blocked his way, again.

"No." Rook said, still standing his ground. "Tell me. Now."

Roanoke narrowed his eyes into slits. "And what if I don't?"

"You're hiding something much greater then what happened between you and Ben, and I know it!" Rook hissed.

Roanoke snorted. "Where did THAT come from? I'm secretive for sure, but nothing that concerns my past self."

"If it is your secrets, then of CORSE it concerns me!" Rook snarled, feeling clever.

Roanoke swiftly turned on his heels and walked in a different direction. He walked quickly, avoiding Rook's gaze and seeming to ignore him.

"Roanoke!" Rook cried out, following closely behind. "Why won't you tell me? If we are the same, then there must be no reason to be so secretive!"

"There is always a reason!" Roanoke hissed, still avoiding Rook's hot gaze.

"Well, give me a reason!"

"I'M AFRAID!" Roanoke growled, spinning on his heels and facing Rook, nose-to-nose.

Rook blinked in surprise.

Roanoke seemed to be just as surprised by his own words as he ripped his gaze away from Rook's and stalked away. He didn't move as fast this time, and he seemed to move in the shadows, as if he didn't want Rook to see his pained expression.

Rook swallowed hard, and then followed after Roanoke. He felt as if Roanoke was about to snap again, but he wasn't quite finished.

Rook caught up with Roanoke. "Afraid ...?"

Roanoke suddenly stopped, his back turned to Rook. Shadows casted over his dark pelt. His ears pinned back, as if he were angry, but his fur lied flat.

Roanoke sighed painfully, turning his head back towards Rook. "I'm afraid of remembering."

Rook looked towards the ground, then up at Roanoke. "Well ... I'm afraid of what I'll become."

Roanoke twitched his ears. "But ... why? I have already told. You'll have all this power. You'll have trusted subjects, a kingdom, wealth, and such power. You'll be a KING. Why run from such a thing?"

Rook stared at Roanoke for a while. "You know. You know what you are."

Roanoke turned around to fully face Rook. "I'm NOT a monster."

Both stared at each other for a few more moments.

Rook took in a deep breath. "No, but you think so."

Roanoke suddenly looked down at his feet, his expression was no longer stone solid, but saddened. "I'm ... a king. I'm King Roanoke."

"And I am Rook Blonko." Rook said proudly. "I am a Plumber and Ben Tennyson's partner. I am a Revonnahgander from the planet Revonnah. I proudly follow orders, rather then giving them. And there is not a SINGLE thing I would change."

* * *

Ben walked the streets of Bellwood. He walked down the shipping yard, where they had first found Roanoke. Ben hoped that perhaps he would find something there that he and Rook could use as a clue to send Roanoke back to his time.

Sadly, Ben had found nothing. Ben sighed painfully, bored out of his mind. He had just been planning on ditching his patrol when he saw a bright flash of light. He thought that another portal was opening up, letting another being from another time in, but something else walked out of a bright portal. Or, someone.

Ben gasped. "Paradox?"

The elder man gave a warm smile. "Hello, Tennyson."

Ben just about burst into tears of joy. "Thank God you're here! You're here to take Roanoke back, right? You have NO IDEA how much trouble he has caused!"

"Ben -" Paradox tried, but didn't finish.

"He escaped HQ and stole Rook's ship, which I have NO CLUE how he was able to do!" Ben cried out.

"Please, let me finish -"

"Then, he broke into a -"

"MR. TENNYSON!" Paradox snapped.

Ben was silent.

Paradox took in a deep breath. "I'm not here to take back Roanoke."

"WHAT?!" Ben yelled.

Paradox shot Ben a silencing look. "I have just come here to have a 'chat' with you."

Ben rubbed his forehead, like he was having a headache. "Alright, PLEASE explain to me WHY you aren't taking Roanoke back to his time."

Paradox grinned widely. "All in good time, Mr. Tennyson. For now, you should just wait and see how things play out."

"Wait and see how thing 'play out'?" Ben muttered. "What does THAT mean?"

"Me taking Roanoke back into his time would be too easy, now wouldn't it?" Paradox said with a shrug. "You and your partner should be able to figure this one out yourselves. Sure, it will be a challenge, but that'll be the fun part."

"Figure WHAT out?" Ben wailed.

Paradox gave a sly grin. "I'll tell you this much: let's just say that there are some things that are still 'unresolved' at the moment."

Ben was completely confused. "I ... don't understand."

"Oh, you're a smart young lad. You'll figure it out soon enough." Paradox said just as he began to turn around.

A bright portal opened back up, letting Paradox step back through it.

"Wait!" Ben cried out.

Paradox was half way through when he turned back around towards Ben. "Oh, and one more thing. Keep this meeting between us a secret, will you?"

"Wait, what? Why?" Ben asked.

"Until next time!" Paradox said with a wave, walking through the portal.

"Wait, Paradox!" Ben yelled once more, but it was already too late.

Paradox was gone.

* * *

_Some questions are answered here._

_A Stitch in Time (c) redwolfproductions_  
_Ben 10 (c) Cartoon Network_


	6. Back to the Past

Chapter 6 – Back to the Past

Walking on the time line, Paradox decided to go to simplier time, but he ended up changing course as he walked on.

Instead of going to a happy time where Ben and Rook had been partners, and things had remained unchanged, Paradox had ended up going into a different time. And during this time things weren't so simple, nor were they anywhere near 'happy'.

Paradox stepped into this time zone, but made it so that he could see things and walk around this time, but it was as if he weren't actually there.

Paradox was in a plain room. Hearing voices coming from another, he just walked right through the nearest wall. As said, he was able to walk through this time zone, but everything would remain unchanged. Paradox did this for a reason.

Coming into another room, Paradox scanned the area as if to see where the voices had been coming from. No one was in the room, but Paradox could hear the voices becoming louder, and they were moving towards where Paradox was.

Just staying where he was, Paradox listened as the voices grew.

"Wow. Are you sure it's him?" one asked.

"Yes. It's definately Rook. A group of Plumbers found him somewhere in Iceland."

"Iceland?" the first questioned. "Why there?"

Just then, the two people walked into the same room as Paradox. They walked over to a small table, completely walking right past Paradox.

"Who cares?" the second guy shrugged. "The point is that they found him."

"Wow. Just ... wow." the first repeated. "What are the odds?"

The second man sighed. "I know. Everyone thought that guy was gone for sure."

"Yeah, but what was he doing in Iceland?" the first pondered.

The second shriveled back. "You didn't hear?"

The first shook his head. "I'm just now hearing about this."

Whispering, the second turned to his friend. "When they found Rook, he was lying in a ditch."

"What? Seriously?" his friend hissed. "Does anyone know why?"

His friend looked around the room, as if someone would overhear them. He looked back towards his friend. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, since people stopped talking about it after we all figured out what happened, but when they found Rook, they thought he was dead. From what I heard, he was completely beat up, as if he were road kill and someone had just dumped him in ditch. At first, people thought that someone had murdered Rook, but they figured out that he was still breathing."

His friend shuttered. "What happened?"

Slowly turning to his friend, the second person had lowered his voice. "Rook was completely out of it. By the time he was given all the medical care possible for the situation, it was as if he were a different person. He would start screaming in his sleep and talking to walls. It scared people."

"No wonder." his friend whispered. "What did they do?"

"Well, people got more and more scared. Rook was getting physically better, but not mentally. It got to the point where he would lash out at others if they so much as sneezed or got too close to him while he was 'having a conversation' with a wall. At first it was just verbal lashes, but one day he got so angry he actually attacked another Plumber. It wasn't like him at all."

His friend blinked in amazement, waiting for the other to continue.

"So, they had to restrain him. It was considered a last resort. No one knew what else to do. They couldn't bring him back to Bellwood, and they couldn't tell Ben or anyone else about it."

"How long ago was this?" his friend whispered.

"They found Rook in Iceland about a few months ago." the second explained.

His friend seemed to be puzzled. "A few months? Why did it take so long to get Rook back to Bellwood?"

"Like I said," his friend explained. "Rook wasn't acting normal. So, after restraining him, the other Plumbers had to get him some professional help. A theripist, I guess. Well, I guess the first three didn't work out. Rook was just too hard to work with. As it turns out, though, the fourth one was a charm. Rook worked well with whoever they were. Or at least I think he did. He didn't throw chairs at them and he didn't start raming his head into walls, so I guess things worked out. Sure, they had to put Rook in a straight jacket for most of the time, but he was getting well enough to the point where they could take it off during theripy hours."

His friend seemed amazed. "Really? Then they just sent him straight back to Bellwood right after?"

"Well, there was complications." his friend sighed. "As it turned out, the only way that Rook would talk about what had happened to him and why he was in a ditch was when he was with his theipist. The Plumbers found out that Rook was spilling all his information to this person, and they basically flipped, since they wanted to know everything that had happened. However, Rook's theipist couldn't tell a single soul about what happened during theipy unless Rook allowed it. And guess what?"

"Rook didn't like others knowing what happened." the first answered. "But why?"

"No one knows." his friend said, shaking his head. "All that we know is that Rook was soon 'cured' for his mental illness. His theripist said that they were certain that Rook was ready to be released back into a population. That was when they sent Rook back to Bellwood."

His friend shook his head. "But it seems as if nothing had happened. Rook is just the same as before he ... disapeared."

The second frowned. "You sure about that? I don't know about you, but I've noticed some sketchyness."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you pay attention closely, you see that Rook is more scared of things then usual." his friend muttered. "Just so much as dropping a pin will make him flinch."

Paradox had had enough. Stepping to the side, he changed his course on the time line to some place different. He walked on for a while, but he soon came to where he was meaning to go. Stepping into a new time zone, Paradox was glad that he wasn't in a seperate room this time. He was right where he needed to be.

Just like last time, Paradox seemed as if he were a ghost, there but not noticed.

Paradox had gone further back up in time. Futher from where he had been before. Now, he was in one of the most digusting and feral places he had ever seen. He was in the same place that Rook had taken on the name Ronaoke and had changed completely.

Paradox stood on pebble ground. His feet felt as if they were touching nothing, but yet he was able to walk around on the terraine.

Paradox didn't walk on very far. He just walked until he saw what he needed to see.

There in the shadows looked to be something strange and deformed. Rough, broken, and ripped armor clung to this figure's body, but parts of his body were already beginning to take on a new shape and form completely.

Rook, who had once been a handsome and role modle Revonnahgander, was now starting to mutate into a monster.

Rook rocked back on forth as he sat in the shadows. His head was burried in his knees, but Paradox could see perfectly clear how Rook's pointed ears were starting to round out and become fuzzy. His fur that had once been unoticeable, was now starting to fluff out and look more thick. The feet part of Rook's Proto-Tech suit were completely ripped off, seeing that his feet needed room to grow into more paw-like and padded feet. Fuzzy toes that of a cat's showed. Small claws could be seen flexing in and out as Rook was becoming slightly annoyed and irritated. To Paradox's amusement, Rook was beginning to grow something like a bobed tail.

Rook wasn't the only one, though. There were others just like him who were mutating into something horrible.

Many were changing into creatures just like Rook, which seemed to be something like cat-people, but a few selected people were changing into something else. Their skin would seem to almost boil on the spot and their eyes would roll to the backs of their heads. This was when one of these strange odd balls out would die. These different types of mutants weren't as strong as Rook and the others, so they didn't last long.

This was around the same time that Rook was beginning to loose his mind, and starting to forget about part of his past. He would forget certain things, but some things he would remember easily. This was considered strange, considering that Rook was the only one of the others who was loosing his memory. But he wasn't the only one loosing his mind.

Deciding that he had seen enough, Paradox sighed and stepped back into the time line. There was nothing else to see.

* * *

A complete week had gone by since Rook and Roanoke had had a 'talk'. And things hadn't turned out any better. They had gotten no closer to sending Roanoke back to his time. And things were looking pretty horrible for the cat-like warrior.

Roanoke sat on top of a building, one leg hanging off the side and the other resting on the edge of the building's edge. The day was gloomy and didn't look as nice as it had in the morning. It was afternoon, now, and the day had seemed to dim as time went by. Roanoke was used to being in dark skies, so he wasn't too 'down' by the weather.

In fact, Roanoke prefered to have the weather in this state rather then the day being bright and shinning. It was a weird thing to say, but Roanoke and his people were used to the weather being dark and overcasted. It was just how the polluted skies were always like, even in Gyrocity.

Not just the weather made Roanoke pleased. It was the fact that the city life seemed to suddenly come to a slow, as if people suddenly didn't have anywhere else to be that day.

So, Roanoke sat on top of the building as he stared off into the clouded skies, thinking about things. Roanoke tried not to let his mind wonder too far, but he sometimes couldn't help it.

He held a rolled piece of paper to his lips, something that he had rolled himself just a few moments ago. He held it closer to his lips with his index finger and thumb, taking in another deep drag, but then pulled it away as he let the smoke roll out of his mouth and nostrils. The scent that came from the smoke always made Roanoke pleased. It wasn't strange smelling like weed, yet it wasn't nasty like cigarettes.

Roanoke heard footsteps coming up from behind him. Naturally, Roanoke's neck fur fluffed up and he flared his nostrils, as if he were detecting danger, but he knew that he didn't need to be completely worried. Plus, if he had been in any real danger, his scenes would be dulled at that moment.

Ben came closer and looked out over the city, as if noticing the dark weather and slow movements. Unlike Roanoke, Ben hadn't been used to things being like this. Sure, Bellwood was known for having the most strange things happen, but the days were almost always nice and the city was always busy.

Crinkling his nose, Ben suddenly smelt the strange scent. He looked over at Roanoke, to see that he was smoking something.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you smoked."

Roanoke pulled the rolled up joint away from his lips, but just glanced over at ben before looking back over at the city.

"Hardly." Roanoke muttered.

Ben took in another wiff of the scent. "What is that?"

"Take a guess." Roanoke said, rolling his eyes. "It's the only thing that I ever do smoke."

"Catnip?"

"Bingo." Roaoke chuckled, placing the smoke back to his lips. He took in a smaller drag this time, partly shutting his eyes to take in the smells and tastes, enjoying every part of it.

As Roanoke blew out more smoke, Ben tilted his head. "Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

Roanoke chuckled, blowing smoke into Ben's direction. "It's fine. I'm used to the stuff, anyway. Plus, I tend to have a higher tollerance level then most."

Ben huffed. "Sure. Just as long as you don't get out of control like last time."

Roanoke seemed to suddenly growl, becoming irritated. He tried to narrow his eyes into cat-like slits, but his pupils were too relaxed. "That was intentional, Tennyson."

Ben blinked in surprise. "So, you were TRYING to get high?"

Roanoke rolled his eyes, taking in one last drag before flicking the dead joint over the building side. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I smoke to get high, as does everyone else. Whereas me and my people do it with catnip to enjoy ourselves, humans do it to just get 'too' happy. Part of the time I believe it isn't with a group, at all."

Ben snorted. "But you're smoking alone."

Roanoke snarled, trying to regain his furiousity. "I don't SEE any other Pyronites here. Do you?"

Ben flinched back, then sighed. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Roanoke snorted, looking back over the city, and feeling pleased that he had gotten an apology.

Ben sat on the edge of the building, hanging both his legs over the side. He looked over at Roanoke. "So ... why do you call you and your people Pyronites?"

Roanoke flicked his ears slowly, obviosly out of it. "Why not?"

"Yeah, but Pyronites are fire people. FIRE people. You seem nothing like Pyronites." Ben muttered, looking into Roanoke's direction.

Roanoke, who was already starting to see blurs and stars, just shook his head. "My mind is complex and strange in many ways. I must have known at some point what a Pyronite was. It isn't that hard to see why, though. Blaze may have had a huge influence on what I named our kind. I named a lot of stuff. Seems kind of stupid to let the person who has hardly any memory name things and rule a city. But they let me, nevertheless."

"Gyrocity?" Ben mused.

Roanoke nodded. "Yes. And don't ask me where I got the name. I don't even know what a gyro is, anymore."

"It's kind of like a taco." Ben explained.

"Great." Roanoke muttered. "I named my city after a taco."

Ben suddenly had to stop and think things through. He turned back to Roanoke, looking puzzled. "Blaze is your new partner, and he had an effect on what you called your kind. What does that mean?"

"It just means what it means." Roanoke muttered, seming to not think of things right.

Ben knew that Roanoke was most likely baked, but he still wanted to know about Blaze.

"What does Blaze look like? I know he's the same kind as you, but what else does he look like?"

Roanoke yawned, feeling tired. "He is kind of like a little lion, but also like a tiger in some ways. He has stripe marking all around him, like a tiger, but he also has an orange mane that goes from his head down to his shoulder blades. He's indeed a strange character."

"How so?" Ben mused.

Roanoke blinked, his eyes looking dazed. "He reminds me of someone I used to know, in a weird way. In the day, even on a day like this, his pelt seems to just about flame. That's how he got his name in the first place. At night, though, it's a different story. His pelt will blend in with the shadows and his eyes will glow in the dark. Well, all our eyes glow. His just seem more starnge, though. His green eyes glow so brightly it often reminds me of the radioactive waste."

Ben processed all of this.

Roanoke swallowed, making another comment. "Strange, though. I can faintly remember how when I first met him and he wasn't completely mutated, yet. He used to have blue eyes."

Chills went down Ben's spine. He could now see where Roanoke had gotten the idea to call his kind Pyronites. As Ben processed an image of what this warrior would look like, he began to think that Blaze was something of a wonder, as well. Ben suddenly thought that perhaps if they got Roanoke back to his time, then maybe Ben could meet Blaze.

Looking over at Roanoke, Ben saw something different. For once since he had met Roanoke, this strong, warrior looked as if he were completely tired out, even old looking. His eyes were clouded form the nip he had been smoking, but Ben knew deep down that the cloud that had been created was just something to hide what was really behind those eyes. And Ben knew that that thing that Roanoke was trying to hide was pain.

It had seemed that every moment that Roanoke spent in this time was slowly killing him. This thought frightened Ben. What if Roanoke really WAS dying?

No longer was Roanoke as strong and swift as he had once been when he met Ben. His dark, blue pelt was now beginning to fade, as if the color was draining out of Roanoke. In just the few weeks that Roanoke had been in this time, he seemed to grow weaker and weaker, his strength slowly draining out of him.

Although Roanoke wore a hoodie most of the time, Ben and Rook both knew that their guest's ribs were starting to show.

No matter what Rook or Ben said, it seemed as if Roanoke didn't want to eat a much as he normally would. And this frightened the two friends. Roanoke was known to eat anything, and to eat large amounts frequently.

Now, Roanoke would only eat every so often and would eat in small amounts. He seemed to always be staring off into space, thinking of other things other then food or getting excercise.

Ben was about to say something, but he was startled once Roanoke started coughing violently. His whole body heaved up and down as he would seem to cough out his lungs. The more Roanoke coughed and the harder his chest heaved, the more and more worried Ben became.

As if reading Ben's mind, Roanoke turned to Ben. His clouded, yellow eyes seemed to horribly hide his pain. He stood up from the building and began to walk away on the pavement.

"I'm going to take a nap ..." Roanoke muttered as he walked off.

Ben wanted to go after Roanoke, but he didn't know what he would say or do once he caught up with him. Ben knew that something was wrong, and he also knew that it would only get worse unless they found a way to send him back into his own time.

Ben sighed, looking off into the city. He listened as Roanoke's footsteps became more and more faint. Once he couldn't hear them anymore, he sighed.

No matter how hard he tried, Ben couldn't stop thinking about what Paradox had said. Ben had wished that he would speak about this with Rook, thinking that his partner would know something about what Paradox had said, but Ben knew that Paradox said to keep their meeting a secret.

Something kept buzzing around in Ben's mind, though. If Roanoke and Rook were the same people, then why had they changed so much? Perhaps this is what Paradox wanted Ben to find out. Then again, Ben wouldn't even know where to begin in finding out answers.

* * *

_You get to see why Roanoke's people and city have strange names._

_Poor Roanoke. Being a lost king must suck._

_A Stitch in Time (c) redwolfproductions_  
_Ben 10 (c) Cartoon Network_


	7. Broken Souls

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence/gore and strong language.**

Chapter 7 – Broken Souls

Sitting inside Rook's truck, Roanoke lied on a cot as he tried to breathe in properly. He knew that he was slowly dying from the inside out, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had been in this time zone for a whole month, now. Every passing day seemed to drag on Roanoke, making it harder and harder for him to even get up. Normally, Roanoke would just lie in Rook's truck (or preferably his old one). He would sleep all day and only get up to do his business or eat. Yet, Roanoke never really ate that much, anymore. He remembered a time when he would eat as if he were an endless pit, and he would eat just about anything. Once when Roanoke was hungry enough, and he didn't want to ask Rook for anything, Roanoke just crawled out into the street and ate someone's garbage can.

When Rook had returned and saw the half-eaten garbage can he had questioned Roanoke, but Roanoke just said that he was hungry and would eat whatever he found. Rook was worried that his future self would have problems digesting the metal, but he soon figured out that Roanoke had an iron stomach. Still, Rook was worried that Roanoke wasn't eating right. He hardly ever ate, and when he did, he ate whatever junk was around.

Roanoke was just merely a shadow of his former self. His fur seemed to have suddenly dulled and his teeth were worn down from chewing on whatever he found in the truck. Rook was a little ticked that his equipment had teeth marks on it, but he was more worried about Roanoke then anything. He constantly offered the larger male some real food, but Roanoke turned down the offers ruefully. He tried to sound tough, but his voice was scratched and his eyes were clouded in a haze.

Roanoke would always growl at Rook to get him some cat-nip, but Rook had denied giving his future self anything that was considered a drug. Rook hadn't ever really smoked cat-nip before, but he didn't want to try, considering what trouble his future self had gotten into because of it. Instead, Rook had given Roanoke some pain pills to numb the pain. Rook hadn't taken into account that Roanoke would over dose, but he was surprised when he saw that Roanoke had hardly touch the pills. He just curled up in a ball on the cot in the corner of the truck.

Rook spent most of his time fixing his truck, since Roanoke had crashed it. Yet, Rook wasn't angry. Sure, the repairs would take forever, but he couldn't stay mad at Roanoke, not just because they were the same person, but because he knew that Roanoke had tougher things to deal with then fixing a truck.

Yet, one day Rook and Ben had been walking and talking. They tried to avoid the topic of Roanoke, but he was a major thorn in their sides. He was a trouble maker, yet he was always down and seemed to do nothing but hang back in Rook's truck. While they walked, Rook finally snapped.

"Ben, I don't want Roanoke to die. Not in my truck." Rook had huffed, sounding both irritated and worried.

Ben seemed surprised, but he knew what Rook meant. "Well, what are we going to do with him?"

Rook just sighed. "I don't know ..."

Just as the two neared Rook's truck, they thought they could hear pained moans coming from the inside. Rook was the first to run up to his truck and fling open the back doors.

"Roanoke?" he called, sounding worried. "Are you alright?"

"No ..." Roanoke moaned, curled up in the corner and hiding his face. "Go away. Get out!"

Rook stood by the door for a moment, watching as his future self curled up tighter and seemed to moan silently, but the moans weren't of pain, but instead of sorrow.

Ben walked up to the back of the truck, looking inside and also hearing the sad cries. "Roanoke ... are you ..."

"No!" Roanoke snarled, again. "Get out! Get out! GET OUT!"

Rook instinctively pulled away and slammed the doors shut, looking stunned. Ben wasn't any different. Both stood by the back of the truck, listening to the moans inside, both stunned. Was Roanoke ... crying?

"This hasn't ever happened before ..." Rook whispered.

"What's wrong with him?" Ben asked, even thought he knew that there was many things wrong with Roanoke.

Rook just slowly shook his head. "I don't know ..."

* * *

Roanoke had dreamt of something he shouldn't have. This often happened to Roanoke. He would have strange dreams that he didn't understand, but he knew that deep down these were more then dreams. They were memories.

Roanoke's dream had started out pleasant. He was roaming the streets of Bellwood. He was in his Proto-Tech armor and had his Proto-Tool with him, but he was still trapped in his toxic new body. Yet, he didn't seem angry or even depressed. He was ... happy.

Walking the streets of Bellwood, Roanoke had been whistling a soft tune to himself. And that was when he thought he saw his partner, Blaze. He had ben so ecstatic to see his friend he had called out Blaze's name, but yet the warrior hadn't responded. Roanoke had been frustrated by this, knowing that it was Blaze because of his bright, orange pelt. Roanoke changed his speed from a walk to a run, calling out his friend's name.

"Blaze!" Roanoke cried out. "Blaze, over here!"

And that was when the nightmare seemed to start.

Roanoke placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, turning him around. Seeing the face, Roanoke shuttered. Although this had been Blaze a moment again, he had been replaced by Ben. Their similar eyes shone back at Roanoke.

"Rook?" Ben asked, a small smile creeping across his lips. "Good, you're here. Grandpa Max wants us at HQ!"

"But ... I'm not ..." Roanoke started, but knew it would be pointless to explain to Ben that he was now Roanoke. And how could he not see that Roanoke was completely different? "Um ... alright ... Ben ..."

Ben gave his friend a questioning look. "Is everything alright, dude?"

"Um ... no. No, everything is not alright." Roanoke admitted. "What's going on? Where is Blaze?"

"Blaze?" Ben questioned. "Who's Blaze?"

"My partner." Roanoke huffed.

"Rook, are you feeling alright, man? It's me, Ben. Your partner."

Roanoke sadly shook his head. "I'm perfectly alright. Something isn't right, though. I'm not Rook. And you're not Blaze."

"Um ... maybe we should get you checked." Ben said, sounding a little worried. "And I doubt you'd be joking ..."

"I'm not!" Roanoke cried out. "And this isn't a game, either. This is all wrong. I need to see Blaze, not you. Where is he?"

"Dude, calm down." Ben said defensively. "Look, I don't know who Blaze is, but maybe you should check in a ditch."

"What?" Roanoke gasped, stunned.

Just like that, Ben disappeared. Roanoke couldn't have been more confused. Then, the whole street seemed to vanish right from under him. He was left in nothing but a white space.

"Hello?" Roanoke's voice echoed. "Ben ... Blaze?"

Walking through the white space, Roanoke could hear his footsteps echoing. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't really care. However, Roanoke thought he could hear faint words being spoken. Roanoke wasn't sure if this really was a dream, or if he had died and was trapped in some weird reality. Either way, Roanoke knew that he was going to have a hell of a time getting through all this.

"Hello?" Roanoke tried, again.

"Roanoke?" a voice called out.

Relived that someone had answered him (and by his current name), Roanoke picked up his pace and ran towards the voice. He didn't call out again, but he knew that someone must have been there. He kept running until the ground beneath his feet turned from white nothing into dirt ground. Roanoke kept running for a moment longer, but then his pace slowed as he suddenly remembered the place. This was the same gorge that he and the others had mutated. Roanoke shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to be here, or to see any of this.

"Roanoke?" the same voice called.

Roanoke forced himself to open his eyes and move towards the voice. This HAD to be Blaze. It just had to be.

"Blaze?" Roanoke called out.

Walking in the direction Roanoke had heard the voice, he was stunned to see the ground shifting, again. This time, he was on more rough ground, not in the gorge. He walked towards a deep hole in the ground, a ditch.

Roanoke peered over the edge, but cringed back once he saw what was in it. Roanoke thought he was used to seeing dead bodies, but the sight made him sick to the stomach for some reason. In the ditch lied a mangled body covered in teeth and claw marks. The poor thing had been mauled to death, it's throat ripped out and in a blooded mess.

Roanoke could hear thunder off in the distance as he saw the sky getting darker. Rain drops splattered on Roanoke, making him shutter. The rain quickly picked up, creating a mud slide and covering the body.

Roanoke couldn't stop staring at the person's eyes, though. They were a bright blue, still having their frightened expression. The person had only started to mutate, looking rugged and partly furry. It's fur was a light shade of grey, looking rather pathetic. Suddenly, Roanoke heard someone walking up behind him. He quickly spun around to see an old face that he thought he would never have to see again.

Suddenly, everything clicked. Roanoke remembered this day. He remembered EVERYTHING. Roanoke didn't know why, but he felt enraged, yet he felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He knew what really happened. He knew this day.

"What have you done?" his old mentor said in a calm voice, not at all surprised.

Roanoke felt his voice rise in a snarl. "You made me do it!"

"I have done nothing." Eon chuckled. "You have killed your own best friend, your partner. I trusted you with him, and you killed him."

"You ... you never liked him!" Roanoke growled, becoming more and more enraged. "You used me! You ... you ... you SNAKE-HEART!"

Eon then gave a low, sick growl. "You are no different, Roanoke. I created you, and I can destroy you!"

Roanoke then remembered the same rage he had felt that day. He had never been more angry in his life. Not even as king. He remembered what was to happen next, and he didn't stop himself from surprise attacking Eon, tackling him to the ground in a mad struggle.

Eon was easily stronger and wiser then Roanoke, but Roanoke had never felt so angry before. And he couldn't be more ashamed of himself. How could he never remember this? He remembered killing Eon, but he didn't remember why he had one it. He then knew, though. Eon had tricked him. He used him to kill the one youngster he hated the most, Blaze. Well, the old Blaze.

Now Roanoke knew why Blaze's eyes used to be blue. He had been a completely different person. And Roanoke had killed him ...

Through Roanoke's haze of hatred, he saw Eon's frightened face. "R-Roanoke!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Roanoke snarled, his eyes hazed in both rage and tears. "I'LL FUCKING GORE YOU!"

And that was exactly what he did. Roanoke remembered the blood that strained him and his clothes that day. And remembered everything, now. The only difference was that Roanoke had been crying through everything.

Roanoke had dumped Eon's body in the ditch, watching as mud filled up the ditch, covering both Blaze and Eon. Roanoke sank to his kees and placed his palms on his face, starting a light sob.

"I'm sorry ..." Roanoke had sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"

And that had been when Roanoke woke up from this horrible dream. He didn't have to dream longer to know what happened next, and why there was a new Blaze that Roanoke took as a partner. He knew who Blaze really was, and he couldn't help but sobbing in this reality.

"I fucked up ..." he said silently to himself. "This ... this is ALL my fault. I'm sorry Blaze ... I'm sorry, Ben ..."

* * *

_Well, this chapter took long enough to upload. Anyway, you get to see more of the truth in this chapter. More will be explained in the next one, though._

_A Stitch in Time (c) redwolfproductions_  
_Ben 10 (c) Cartoon Network_


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